Out-of-Town Home Buyers and City Welfare
63 Pages Posted: 11 Sep 2017
There are 2 versions of this paper
Out-of-Town Home Buyers and City Welfare
Date Written: September 2017
Abstract
The major cities of the world have attracted a flurry of out-of-town (OOT) home buyers. Such capital inflows affect housing affordability, the spatial distribution of residents, construction, labor income, wealth, and ultimately welfare. We develop a spatial equilibrium model of a city with substantial heterogeneity among residents. We calibrate the model to the New York and Vancouver metro areas. The observed increase in OOT purchases is associated with 1.1% (5.0%) higher house prices and a 0.1% (0.34%) welfare loss in New York (Vancouver). Taxing OOT buyers can turn welfare losses into gains when tax revenues finance a local public good.
Keywords: affordable housing, Dynamic spatial equilibrium, foreign investors, Gentrification, House Prices, property taxes
JEL Classification: G11, G12, H41, H70, J61, R10, R20, R30, R40, R51
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh
Columbia University Graduate School of Business ( email )
3022 Broadway
Uris Hall 809
New York, NY New York 10027
United States
HOME PAGE: http://https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/svannieuwerburgh/