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Houses without people and people without houses: a cultural and institutional exploration of an Italian paradox

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  • Martina Gentili
  • Joris Hoekstra

Abstract

According to basic economics, when vacancy rates rise, house prices should decrease and vice versa, responding to supply and demand mechanisms. However, previous studies have observed that, before the economic crisis, this was not the case in Spain and Malta. It has been questioned whether this paradox is a Mediterranean phenomenon or simply the result of isolated cases of malfunctioning housing market. This paper contributes to this discussion by reviewing the pre-crisis housing market of a third case study: Italy. A Mediterranean housing system perspective is used to analyse the paradox, and methodological issues regarding the definition and measurement of vacancy are addressed. Moreover, the paper explores the consequences of the high Italian vacancy rate within a context of housing shortages and affordability problems. We argue that a better understanding of the characteristics and implications of vacancy is necessary in order to be able to implement sustainable housing and planning policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Martina Gentili & Joris Hoekstra, 2019. "Houses without people and people without houses: a cultural and institutional exploration of an Italian paradox," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 425-447, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:34:y:2019:i:3:p:425-447
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2018.1447093
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    Cited by:

    1. Esposito, Alessandra, 2023. "Tourism-driven displacement in Naples, Italy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Xuan Liu & Zehao Li & Xinyi Fu & Zhengtong Yin & Mingzhe Liu & Lirong Yin & Wenfeng Zheng, 2023. "Monitoring House Vacancy Dynamics in The Pearl River Delta Region: A Method Based on NPP-VIIRS Night-Time Light Remote Sensing Images," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Antonello MonsĂą Scolaro & Stefania De Medici, 2021. "Downcycling and Upcycling in Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse of Pre-Existing Buildings: Re-Designing Technological Performances in an Environmental Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, October.
    4. Masatomo Suzuki & Yasushi Asami, 2020. "Shrinking housing market, long-term vacancy, and withdrawal from housing market," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 619-638, October.
    5. Ha Thi Khanh Van & Tran Vinh Ha & Takumi Asada & Mikiharu Arimura, 2022. "Vacancy Dwellings Spatial Distribution—The Determinants and Policy Implications in the City of Sapporo, Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Xiaoyang Zhong & Mingming Hu & Sebastiaan Deetman & Bernhard Steubing & Hai Xiang Lin & Glenn Aguilar Hernandez & Carina Harpprecht & Chunbo Zhang & Arnold Tukker & Paul Behrens, 2021. "Global greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial building materials and mitigation strategies to 2060," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.

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