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Living on my own: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on housing preferences

Author

Listed:
  • Elisa Guglielminetti

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Michele Loberto

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Giordano Zevi

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Roberta Zizza

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

We quantify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on housing demand of Italian households by exploiting new information on their search activity on the market. The data comes from two unique datasets: the Italian Housing Market Survey, conducted quarterly on a large sample of real estate agents, and the universe of weekly housing sales advertisements taken from Immobiliare.it, a popular online portal for real estate services in Italy. The latter includes high-frequency and house-specific measures of online interest of potential home buyers. The pandemic induced a large increase in demand for houses located in areas with lower population density, mainly driven by a significant shift in preferences towards larger, single-family housing units, endowed with outdoor spaces. Fear of contagion, lockdown measures and the rise of remote working arrangements all likely shaped the evolution of housing demand, with potential long-lasting consequences on the housing market.

Suggested Citation

  • Elisa Guglielminetti & Michele Loberto & Giordano Zevi & Roberta Zizza, 2021. "Living on my own: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on housing preferences," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 627, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_627_21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Federica Ciocchetta & Elisa Guglielminetti & Alessandro Mistretta, 2023. "What drives house prices in Europe?," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 764, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Gamber, William & Graham, James & Yadav, Anirudh, 2023. "Stuck at home: Housing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(PB).
    3. Simone Emiliozzi & Concetta Rondinelli & Stefania Villa, 2023. "Consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic: evidence from Italian credit cards," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 769, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Michele Loberto & Alessandro Mistretta & Matteo Spuri, 2023. "The capitalization of energy labels into house prices. Evidence from Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 818, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Dani Broitman, 2023. "“Passive” Ecological Gentrification Triggered by the Covid-19 Pandemic," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 312-321.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; housing market; real estate; online housing advertisements; survey data; working from home;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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