Investigating the housing market volatility through the lens of individual house price distribution

Abstract

This study departs from the convention of using only the house price index when analyzing the housing market price change, and examines the market through the lens of house price change distribution. By using a panel data of individual house prices, I find the following. First, house price change distribution has a positive skewness; so, the median is smaller than the mean. Second, when the price index falls, the individual price also falls; however, when the price index rises, the deviation between individual price change increases. Third, even when the price index rises by 10%~20%, 5.2% of the individual houses experience a price fall. Last, the large, high price houses in the capital area shows high price volatility; so, when the price index rises, their price rises more than the average houses, and when the price index falls, their price falls more than the average houses. The results of this study can be utilized in risk management in financial institutions.