This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.House prices in Europe have shown diverging trends, and this paper seeks to explain these differences by analyzing three groups of countries: the "fast lane", the average performers, and the slow movers. Price movements in the first two groups are found to be driven mostly by income and trends in user costs, and housing markets in these countries seem relatively more susceptible to adverse developments in fundamentals. Real house price declines among the slow movers are harder to explain, although ample supply, low home ownership, and less complete mortgage markets are likely factors. The impact of macroeconomic, prudential and structural policies on housing markets can be large and should be a factor in policy decisions.

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This paper is based on internal staff reports and research papers prepared in connection with consultations between the IMF and Ghana during 1989-91 and includes information available through June 1991. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of officials of Ghana in the preparation of the paper. They are also indebted to Evangelos A. Calamitsis and Reinold H. van Til for their valuable comments, Ian McDonald and David Driscoll for editorial advice, and Elisabeth Baker for secretarial assistance. The authors bear sole responsibility for any factual errors.The opinions expressed in the paper are those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the views of the Government of Ghana, Executive Directors of the IMF, or other members of the IMF staff.

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