ALEXANDRIA, VA, MAY 1, 2015 -- A statistical analysis of data from 20 industrial countries covering the period 1970 to 2012 suggests housing market pricing cycles -- normal, boom and bust phases -- have become longer over the last four decades.
The study also found that longer down phases can have dire consequences on national and international economies. While relatively short-lived housing booms tend to deflate, more prolonged booms are likely to spiral out of control. Similarly, compared to short housing busts, longer housing busts are more likely to turn into chronic slumps and, ultimately, lead to severe recessions.
Results of the analysis recently were included in an article in the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics , a professional journal published by the American Statistical Association . The study was conducted by Luca Agnello, University of Palermo (Italy); Vitor Castro, University of Coimbra (Portugal); and Ricardo M. Sousa, University of Minho (Portugal).
Other key study findings include the following:
The authors conclude the study's findings support preventive policy interventions by governments during periods of boom and bust. A timely counter-cyclical policy response before housing booms and busts reach 26 quarters on average is crucial, they say, for avoiding large and persistent housing price swings and for hastening the return of the housing market cycle to a normal phase.
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Journal of Business and Economic Statistics