Stimulating Housing Markets / David Berger, Nicholas Turner, Eric Zwick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Berger, David.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Turner, Nicholas.

Zwick, Eric.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w22903.

NBER working paper series no. w22903

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2016.

Summary:

This paper studies temporary policy incentives designed to address capital overhang by inducing asset demand from buyers in the private market. Using variation across local geographies in ex ante program exposure and a difference-in-differences design, we find that the First-Time Homebuyer Credit induced a cumulative increase in home sales of 397 to 546 thousand, or 7.8 to 10.7 percent, nationally. We find little evidence of a sharp reversal of the policy response; instead, demand comes from several years in the future. The program likely sped the process of reallocating homes from distressed sellers to high value buyers, which stabilized house prices. The response is concentrated in the existing home sales market, implying the stimulative effects of the program were less important than its role in accelerating reallocation.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2016.