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The Amsterdam rent index: The housing market and the economy, 1550–1850

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  • Eichholtz, Piet
  • Straetmans, Stefan
  • Theebe, Marcel

Abstract

The paper investigates the long run historic development of the Amsterdam rental housing market (1550–1850). Using rent data on a large cross section of residential properties in Amsterdam we are able to develop an annual constant-quality rent index for the entire time period. Whereas nominal rents nearly tripled over the considered sample period, average Amsterdam house rents, in real terms, had approximately the same level in 1850 as they exhibited in 1550. Otherwise stated, nominal rents and goods prices rose at the same pace. Over these 301years, the real index moves between a minimum level of 45.6 and a maximum of 162.4. As concerns the relation between the housing market and the real economy, we find empirical evidence that fluctuations in rents and fluctuations in proxies of business cycle activity comove, both in nominal and in real terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Eichholtz, Piet & Straetmans, Stefan & Theebe, Marcel, 2012. "The Amsterdam rent index: The housing market and the economy, 1550–1850," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 269-282.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:21:y:2012:i:4:p:269-282
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2012.09.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Gazzani, 2020. "News and noise bubbles in the housing market," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 36, pages 46-72, April.
    2. David Chambers & Christophe Spaenjers & Eva Maria Steiner, 2020. "The Rate of Return on Real Estate: Long-Run Micro-Level Evidence," Working Papers hal-02896386, HAL.
    3. Brent W. Ambrose & Piet Eichholtz & Thies Lindenthal, 2013. "House Prices and Fundamentals: 355 Years of Evidence," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(2‐3), pages 477-491, March.
    4. Shizhen Wang & David Hartzell, 2021. "Real Estate Return in Hong Kong and its Determinants: A Dynamic Gordon Growth Model Analysis," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 24(1), pages 113-138.
    5. Brent W. Ambrose & N. Edward Coulson & Jiro Yoshida, 2023. "Housing Rents and Inflation Rates," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(4), pages 975-992, June.
    6. Ronan Lyons, 2012. "Search costs, sorting and “property ladder†effects: Evidence from the valuation of amenities," ERSA conference papers ersa12p511, European Regional Science Association.
    7. Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Limonov, Leonid E. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2021. "Housing rent dynamics and rent regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Dirk Brounen & Piet Eichholtz & Stefan Staetmans & Marcel Theebe, 2014. "Inflation Protection from Homeownership: Long-Run Evidence, 1814–2008," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 42(3), pages 662-689, September.
    9. Giorgio Canarella & Luis Gil-Alana & Rangan Gupta & Stephen M Miller, 2021. "Persistence and cyclical dynamics of US and UK house prices: Evidence from over 150 years of data," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(1), pages 53-72, January.
    10. Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2016. "War, housing rents, and free market: Berlin's rental housing during World War I," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 20(3), pages 322-344.
    11. Chen, Ruoyu & Jiang, Hanchen & Quintero, Luis E., 2022. "Measuring the Value of Rent Stabilization and Understanding its Implications for Racial Inequality: Evidence from New York City," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1102, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. repec:tcd:tcduee:tep051 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Nana Cui & Hengyu Gu & Tiyan Shen & Changchun Feng, 2018. "The Impact of Micro-Level Influencing Factors on Home Value: A Housing Price-Rent Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, November.
    14. Gazzani, Andrea, 2016. "News and noise in the housing market," Working Paper Series 1933, European Central Bank.
    15. Ambrose, Brent W. & Coulson, N. Edward & Yoshida, Jiro, 2017. "Inflation Rates Are Very Different When Housing Rents Are Accurately Measured," HIT-REFINED Working Paper Series 71, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    16. Lyons, Ronan C., 2018. "Credit conditions and the housing price ratio: Evidence from Ireland’s boom and bust," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 84-96.
    17. Ronan C Lyons, 2017. "Credit conditions and the housing price ratio: evidence from Ireland's bubble and crash," Trinity Economics Papers tep0717, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    18. Gray, Rowena, 2020. "Inequality in nineteenth century Manhattan: Evidence from the housing market," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2020-02, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    19. Gray, Rowena, 2018. "Selection bias in historical housing data," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    20. Piet Eichholtz & Ronald Huisman & Remco C. J. Zwinkels, 2015. "Fundamentals or trends? A long-term perspective on house prices," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(10), pages 1050-1059, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rent index; Amsterdam housing market; Long term;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy
    • N6 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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