Is a Refugee Crisis a Housing Crisis? Only if Housing Supply is Unresponsive

Abstract

What are the impacts of large inflows of refugees on refugee-hosting housing markets? We
examine the effects of the arrival of 1.3 million Syrian refugees on the housing expenditures
and income of Jordanian nationals. For this purpose, we exploit that refugees disproportionately
locate around the three largest refugee camps after the beginning of the Syrian conflict in
2011. Larger refugee inflows are reflected in two main trends: higher housing expenditures of
all Jordanians and increments in rental income of individuals that own real estate property. The
effects are explained by the large spike in rental prices that resulted from the higher demand
for housing units and the unresponsive housing supply in refugee-hosting areas.

Keywords: Refugees, Housing Markets, Forced Migration

JEL Classification: D22, J61, O17