[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juecon/v68y2010i1p56-71.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

House prices, development costs, and the value of waiting

Author

Listed:
  • Guthrie, Graeme
Abstract
This paper demonstrates that new house prices can exceed direct development costs by considerable margins in competitive housing markets with finite price-elasticities of demand and no restrictive land-use regulation. The premium reflects the value of the option to delay developing the marginal piece of undeveloped land. Competition amongst landowners reduces the option value relative to the standard open-city framework, but--as long as undeveloped land is heterogeneous--does not reduce it to zero. Calibrating a special case of the model to US data suggests that the premium is economically significant. In addition to proving that prices can exceed costs without regulation, this paper shows that the relationship between volatility and the rate of investment is more complicated than previously thought.

Suggested Citation

  • Guthrie, Graeme, 2010. "House prices, development costs, and the value of waiting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 56-71, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:68:y:2010:i:1:p:56-71
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094-1190(10)00011-2
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Albert Saiz, 2010. "The Geographic Determinants of Housing Supply," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(3), pages 1253-1296.
    2. Capozza, Dennis R. & Helsley, Robert W., 1990. "The stochastic city," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 187-203, September.
    3. Richard K. Green & Stephen Malpezzi & Stephen K. Mayo, 2005. "Metropolitan-Specific Estimates of the Price Elasticity of Supply of Housing, and Their Sources," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 334-339, May.
    4. Conze, Antoine & Viswanathan, 1991. "Path Dependent Options: The Case of Lookback Options," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(5), pages 1893-1907, December.
    5. Mullahy, John, 1986. "Specification and testing of some modified count data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 341-365, December.
    6. Steven R. Grenadier, 2002. "Option Exercise Games: An Application to the Equilibrium Investment Strategies of Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(3), pages 691-721.
    7. Bar-Ilan, Avner & Strange, William C., 1996. "Urban Development with Lags," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 87-113, January.
    8. Capozza, Dennis R. & Helsley, Robert W., 1989. "The fundamentals of land prices and urban growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 295-306, November.
    9. Plantinga, Andrew J. & Lubowski, Ruben N. & Stavins, Robert N., 2002. "The effects of potential land development on agricultural land prices," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 561-581, November.
    10. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    11. Eduardo S. Schwartz & Walter N. Torous, 2007. "Commercial Office Space: Testing the Implications of Real Options Models with Competitive Interactions," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 35(1), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Hanushek, Eric A & Quigley, John M, 1980. "What Is the Price Elasticity of Housing Demand?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 62(3), pages 449-454, August.
    13. Capozza Dennis R. & Sick Gordon A., 1994. "The Risk Structure of Land Markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 297-319, May.
    14. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    15. Marjorie Flavin & Takashi Yamashita, 2002. "Owner-Occupied Housing and the Composition of the Household Portfolio," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 345-362, March.
    16. Edward L. Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko, 2005. "Urban Decline and Durable Housing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 345-375, April.
    17. Edward Ludwig Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko, 2003. "The impact of building restrictions on housing affordability," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Jun, pages 21-39.
    18. Capozza, Dennis & Li, Yuming, 1994. "The Intensity and Timing of Investment: The Case of Land," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 889-904, September.
    19. Glaeser, Edward L. & Gyourko, Joseph & Saiz, Albert, 2008. "Housing supply and housing bubbles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 198-217, September.
    20. Glaeser, Edward L & Gyourko, Joseph & Saks, Raven, 2005. "Why Is Manhattan So Expensive? Regulation and the Rise in Housing Prices," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 331-369, October.
    21. James C. Ohls & David Pines, 1975. "Discontinuous Urban Development and Economic Efficiency," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(3), pages 224-234.
    22. Grenadier, Steven R, 1996. "The Strategic Exercise of Options: Development Cascades and Overbuilding in Real Estate Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(5), pages 1653-1679, December.
    23. Guthrie, Graeme, 2009. "Real Options in Theory and Practice," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195380637.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guthrie, Graeme, 2012. "Regulated prices and real options," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 650-663.
    2. Graeme Guthrie, 2023. "Land Hoarding and Urban Development," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 753-793, November.
    3. Katz, Michael & Evans, Lew & Every-Palmer, James, 2011. "Industrial Organisation and Competition Policy Workshop," Working Paper Series 19180, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    4. Lu, Chien-Lin & Liao, Wen-Chi & Peng, Chien-Wen, 2020. "Developers’ perspectives on timing to build: Evidence from microdata of land acquisition and development," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    5. repec:vuw:vuwscr:19180 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Stephen L., 2015. "Change and Persistence in the Economic Status of Neighborhoods and Cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1047-1120, Elsevier.
    7. Chinmoy Ghosh & Milena T. Petrova, 2017. "The Impact of Capital Expenditures on Property Performance in Commercial Real Estate," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 106-133, July.
    8. Yuming Fu & Song Shi, 2022. "Barriers to urban spatial development: Evidence from the 2010–2011 Christchurch earthquakes," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 218-245, January.
    9. McMillen, Daniel & O’Sullivan, Arthur, 2013. "Option value and the price of teardown properties," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 71-82.
    10. Graeme Guthrie, 2014. "Real Options And The Cross-Section Of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 265-283, April.
    11. Damrongsak Rinchumphu & Chris Eves & Connie Susilawati, 2013. "Brand Value of Property in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), Thailand," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 16(3), pages 296-322.
    12. Nguyen Nghia Hoai & Chinda Thanwadee, 2015. "Investigating Factors Influencing Profits Enhancement in Real Estate Companies in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam," International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, Professor Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, vol. 1(3), pages 107-113.
    13. L. Li & Helen X. H. Bao & K. W. Chau, 2023. "On the Strategic Timing of Sales by Real Estate Developers: To Wait or To Presell?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 169-196, January.
    14. Guthrie, Graeme, 2012. "Uncertainty and the trade-off between scale and flexibility in investment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 1718-1728.
    15. Furth, Salim, 2021. "Foundations and Microfoundations: Building Houses on Regulated Land," Working Papers 10752, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chu, Yongqiang & Sing, Tien Foo, 2021. "Intensity and Timing Options in Real Estate Developments," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 24(1), pages 1-17.
    2. Yiying Cheng & Steven P. Clark & Kiplan S. Womack, 2021. "A Real Options Model of Real Estate Development with Entitlement Risk," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(1), pages 106-151, March.
    3. Christian A. L. Hilber & Wouter Vermeulen, 2016. "The Impact of Supply Constraints on House Prices in England," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 358-405, March.
    4. Gilles Duranton & Diego Puga, 2023. "Urban Growth and Its Aggregate Implications," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(6), pages 2219-2259, November.
    5. Hilber, Christian A. L. & Vermeulen, Wouter, 2012. "The impact of supply constraints on house prices in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 59254, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Guillaume POUYANNE, 2008. "Economics of discontinuous urban development (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2008-07, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    7. Clapp, John M. & Bardos, Katsiaryna Salavei & Wong, S.K., 2012. "Empirical estimation of the option premium for residential redevelopment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 240-256.
    8. Arthur Grimes & Andrew Aitken, 2010. "Housing Supply, Land Costs and Price Adjustment," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 325-353, June.
    9. Steven Ott & W. Hughen & Dustin Read, 2012. "Optimal Phasing and Inventory Decisions for Large-Scale Residential Development Projects," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 888-918, November.
    10. Luis H.R. Alvarez & Jukka Lempa & Elias Oikarinen, 2009. "Do Standard Real Option Models Overestimate the Required Rate of Return of Real Estate Investment Opportunities?," Discussion Papers 52, Aboa Centre for Economics.
    11. Rutger-Jan Lange & Coen N. Teulings, 2021. "The option value of vacant land: Don't build when demand for housing is booming," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-022/IV, Tinbergen Institute.
    12. Christian A. L. Hilber, 2017. "The Economic Implications of House Price Capitalization: A Synthesis," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-339, April.
    13. Christian A. L. Hilber, 2019. "Immobilienpreise und Immobilienzyklen und die Rolle von Angebotsbeschränkungen [The impact of local supply constraints on house prices and price dynamics]," Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie (German Journal of Real Estate Research), Springer;Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung e. V., vol. 5(1), pages 37-65, November.
    14. Lim, Terence & Lo, Andrew W. & Merton, Robert C. & Scholes, Myron S., 2006. "The Derivatives Sourcebook," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 1(5–6), pages 365-572, April.
    15. Abebayehu Tegene & Keith Wiebe & Betsey Kuhn, 1999. "Irreversible Investment Under Uncertainty: Conservation Easements and the Option to Develop Agricultural Land," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 203-219, May.
    16. Bulan, Laarni & Mayer, Christopher & Somerville, C. Tsuriel, 2009. "Irreversible investment, real options, and competition: Evidence from real estate development," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 237-251, May.
    17. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Stephen L., 2015. "Change and Persistence in the Economic Status of Neighborhoods and Cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1047-1120, Elsevier.
    18. Arthur Grimes & Andrew Aitken, 2006. "Housing Supply and Price Adjustment," Working Papers 06_01, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    19. Spiegel, Matthew, 1999. "Housing Return and Construction Cycles," Research Program in Finance, Working Paper Series qt8647j8gq, Research Program in Finance, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    20. Jyh-Bang Jou & Tan (Charlene) Lee, 2015. "How Do Density Ceiling Controls Affect Housing Prices and Urban Boundaries?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 219-241, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:68:y:2010:i:1:p:56-71. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622905 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.