Housing markets and European economic imbalances

This e-book is devoted to the impact of the housing mechanism in economic imbalances in relation to the different macro perspectives of European markets.Over the last decade, and especially since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), housing market research has acquired a macroeconomic profile in which researchers have reverted to principles relating to housing prices and financial influences.As the GFC was associated with financial and derivatives markets' collapse, the implications of imbalances in housing markets have been recognized as a key element contributing to the macro-economic disequilibrium. As a consequence of the GFC, the European Union's Economic Imbalance Procedure (EIP) was implemented recognising that housing price change is an early variable to follow regarding countries' imbalances. Furthermore, the GFC aftermath is far from being fully understood due to the differences in housing market reactions to similar incentives among developed economies and their effects on the aggregate economies. In some countries, house prices have recovered while in others they remain depressed with lower than average transaction activities in most markets. Recent research has focused on the analysis of house prices as a relevant part of Monetary Policy transmission channels. It is accepted that changes in housing prices (derived from housing market conditions) could have multiplier effects on credit and housing transactions due to their influence through different transmission channels.The papers in this e-book provide the basis for future research in the housing market and the relationships with macro policies and aggregates. The topics are relevant to understanding how the housing market is integral to macro-economy and the existing interdependencies. It is the intention of these papers to generate curiosity to researchers and increase the further research in these areas.