IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/10031.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Housing Demand and Affordability in India : Implications for Housing Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Karmali,Nadeem M.
  • Aline Weng

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the demand for housing in urban India. Using rental data, the paper finds that income elasticities of housing demand are high and elastic across time. Hedonic pricing regressions confirm that this high elasticity is driven by high demand for improved water and sanitation amenities that are attached to the consumption of housing. Further, the demand estimations show that rental markets in urban India and in megacities are becoming more efficient, emerging from the shadow of legacy rent control regulation and uncertainty from the past. All the results suggest that household subsidies or other demand-side interventions are less warranted, but rather investments to increase housing supply through better service infrastructure for water, sanitation, and connectivity are better uses of public resources. The analysis also provides guidelines to improve the targeting of housing programs by means testing against the income distribution. Using one such estimate of the income distribution, the paper shows that housing affordability is improving in India. In doing so, the paper highlights the methodological challenges in measuring housing affordability in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Karmali,Nadeem M. & Aline Weng, 2022. "Housing Demand and Affordability in India : Implications for Housing Policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10031, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099342105022229388/pdf/IDU0ba4ed93c0c44a0485c09c6b046aabdec42dc.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty, 2019. "Indian Income Inequality, 1922‐2015: From British Raj to Billionaire Raj?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 33-62, November.
    2. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Albert Saiz, 2010. "The Geographic Determinants of Housing Supply," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(3), pages 1253-1296.
    4. Vivi Alatas & Abhijit Banerjee & Rema Hanna & Benjamin A. Olken & Julia Tobias, 2012. "Targeting the Poor: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1206-1240, June.
    5. Erica Field & Matthew Levinson & Rohini Pande & Sujata Visaria, 2008. "Segregation, Rent Control, and Riots: The Economics of Religious Conflict in an Indian City," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 505-510, May.
    6. Holly, Sean & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Yamagata, Takashi, 2010. "A spatio-temporal model of house prices in the USA," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 158(1), pages 160-173, September.
    7. Patrick Bajari & Matthew E. Kahn, 2005. "Estimating Housing Demand With an Application to Explaining Racial Segregation in Cities," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 23, pages 20-33, January.
    8. Gyourko, Joseph & Molloy, Raven, 2015. "Regulation and Housing Supply," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1289-1337, Elsevier.
    9. Zan Yang & Jie Chen, 2014. "Effects of Housing Policy on Affordability," SpringerBriefs in Economics, in: Housing Affordability and Housing Policy in Urban China, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 87-110, Springer.
    10. James B. Davies & Rodrigo Lluberas & Anthony F. Shorrocks, 2017. "Estimating the Level and Distribution of Global Wealth, 2000–2014," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(4), pages 731-759, December.
    11. John M. Quigley & Steven Raphael, 2004. "Is Housing Unaffordable? Why Isn't It More Affordable?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 191-214, Winter.
    12. Malpezzi, Stephen & Mayo, Stephen K, 1987. "The Demand for Housing in Developing Countries: Empirical Estimates from Household Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(4), pages 687-721, July.
    13. Malpezzi, Stephen, 1999. "Economic analysis of housing markets in developing and transition economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: P. C. Cheshire & E. S. Mills (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 44, pages 1791-1864, Elsevier.
    14. Christoph Lakner & Branko Milanovic, 2016. "Global Income Distribution: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 203-232.
    15. de Leeuw, Frank, 1971. "The Demand for Housing: A Review of Cross-Section Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(1), pages 1-10, February.
    16. James B. Davies & Susanna Sandström & Anthony Shorrocks & Edward N. Wolff, 2011. "The Level and Distribution of Global Household Wealth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(551), pages 223-254, March.
    17. Daniel Kahneman & Jack L. Knetsch & Richard H. Thaler, 1991. "Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 193-206, Winter.
    18. Borsch-Supan, Axel & Heiss, Florian & Seko, Miki, 2001. "Housing Demand in Germany and Japan," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 229-252, September.
    19. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2005. "Redistribution via Taxation: The Limited Role of the Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries (2005)," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0507, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    20. Edward Ludwig Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko, 2003. "The impact of building restrictions on housing affordability," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Jun, pages 21-39.
    21. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    22. Nandinee Kutty, 2005. "A new measure of housing affordability: Estimates and analytical results," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 113-142.
    23. Angus Deaton, 2005. "ERRATUM: Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 395-395, May.
    24. Mayo, Stephen K & Malpezzi, Stephen & Gross, David J, 1986. "Shelter Strategies for the Urban Poor in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 1(2), pages 183-203, July.
    25. Goodman, Allen C., 1978. "Hedonic prices, price indices and housing markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 471-484, October.
    26. Ali Osman Solak & Burhan Kabadayı, 2016. "An Econometric Analysis of Housing Demand in Turkey," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(3), pages 1-3.
    27. Zabel, Jeffrey E., 2004. "The demand for housing services," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 16-35, March.
    28. Joshua Gallin, 2006. "The Long-Run Relationship between House Prices and Income: Evidence from Local Housing Markets," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 34(3), pages 417-438, September.
    29. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2005. "The limited role of the personal income tax in developing countries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 928-946, December.
    30. Jimenez, Emmanuel & Keare, Douglas H., 1984. "Housing consumption and permanent income in developing countries: Estimates from panel data in El Salvador," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 172-194, March.
    31. Piyush Tiwari & Jyoti Parikh, 1998. "Affordability, Housing Demand and Housing Policy in Urban India," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(11), pages 2111-2129, November.
    32. Ermisch, J. F. & Findlay, J. & Gibb, K., 1996. "The Price Elasticity of Housing Demand in Britain: Issues of Sample Selection," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 64-86, March.
    33. Follain, James & Lim, Gill-Chin & Renaud, Bertrand, 1980. "The demand for housing in developing countries: The case of Korea," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 315-336, May.
    34. Goodman, Allen C. & Kawai, Masahiro, 1982. "Permanent income, hedonic prices, and demand for housing: New evidence," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 214-237, September.
    35. Michael Stone, 2006. "What is housing affordability? The case for the residual income approach," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 151-184.
    36. Hussain Mohammed A. Al Obaid, 2020. "Factors Determining Housing Demand in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 150-157.
    37. Piyush Tiwari & Kirit Parikh & Jyoti Parikh, 1999. "Effective Housing Demand in Mumbai (Bombay) Metropolitan Region," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(10), pages 1783-1809, September.
    38. Fontenla, Matas & Gonzalez, Fidel, 2009. "Housing demand in Mexico," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-12, March.
    39. Gan, Quan & Hill, Robert J., 2009. "Measuring housing affordability: Looking beyond the median," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 115-125, June.
    40. Zan Yang & Jie Chen, 2014. "Housing Affordability and Housing Policy in Urban China," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-642-54044-8, June.
    41. Mayo, Stephen K., 1981. "Theory and estimation in the economics of housing demand," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 95-116, July.
    42. Skoufias, Emmanuel & Davis, Benjamin & de la Vega, Sergio, 2001. "Targeting the Poor in Mexico: An Evaluation of the Selection of Households into PROGRESA," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1769-1784, October.
    43. Matias Fontenla & Fidel Gonzalez & Juan Carlos Navarro, 2009. "Determinants of housing expenditure in Mexico," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(17), pages 1731-1734.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rajesh Raj & Rath D.P., 2022. "House Price Convergence: Evidence from India [Convergence des prix des logements : le cas indien]," Working papers 893, Banque de France.
    2. Raj Rajesh & Deba Prasad Rath, 2023. "House price convergence: evidence from India," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 721-747, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fontenla, Matas & Gonzalez, Fidel, 2009. "Housing demand in Mexico," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Hussain Mohammed A. Al Obaid, 2020. "Factors Determining Housing Demand in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 150-157.
    3. Stephen Malpezzi, 1990. "Urban Housing and Financial Markets: Some International Comparisons," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 27(6), pages 971-1022, December.
    4. Stephen Malpezzi, 2023. "Housing affordability and responses during times of stress: A preliminary look during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(1), pages 9-40, January.
    5. Tilak Abeysinghe & Jiaying Gu, 2011. "Lifetime Income and Housing Affordability in Singapore," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(9), pages 1875-1891, July.
    6. Ben-Shahar, Danny & Gabriel, Stuart & Golan, Roni, 2019. "Housing affordability and inequality:A consumption-adjusted approach," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Peter Neuteboom & Dirk Brounen, 2011. "Assessing the Accessibility of the Homeownership Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(11), pages 2231-2248, August.
    8. Buckley, Robert M. & Kalarickal, Jerry, 2004. "Shelter strategies for the urban poor : idiosyncratic and successful, but hardly mysterious," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3427, The World Bank.
    9. Ayaz Ahmad & Nasir Iqbal & Rehana Siddiqui, 2018. "Determinants of Housing Demand in Urban Areas of Pakistan: Evidence from the PSLM," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 57(1), pages 1-25.
    10. Ali Osman Solak & Burhan Kabadayi, 2016. "Bounds Testing Approaches to Housing Demand in Turkey: Is There a Real Estate Bubble?," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(3), pages 1132-1135.
    11. Ben C. Arimah, 1997. "The Determinants of Housing Tenure Choice in Ibadan, Nigeria," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(1), pages 105-124, January.
    12. Shen, Ling, 2012. "Are house prices too high in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 1206-1210.
    13. Branko Milanovic, 2022. "After the Financial Crisis: The Evolution of the Global Income Distribution Between 2008 and 2013," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 43-73, March.
    14. Maria Angelica Arbelaez & Roberto Steiner & Alejandro Becerra & Daniel Wills, 2011. "Housing Tenure and Housing Demand in Colombia," Research Department Publications 4736, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    15. Diego Winkelried & Bruno Escobar, 2022. "Declining inequality in Latin America? Robustness checks for Peru," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 223-243, March.
    16. Nora Lustig, 2020. "The ``missing rich'' in household surveys: causes and correction approaches," Working Papers 520, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    17. Jordá, Vanesa & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2019. "Global inequality: How large is the effect of top incomes?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    18. Clémence Tricaud, 2019. "Better alone? Evidence on the costs of intermunicipal cooperation," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2019-12-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.
    19. Andrea Kunnert, 2016. "Leistbarkeit von Wohnen in Österreich. Operationalisierung und demographische Komponenten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58932, March.
    20. Cristini, Marcela & Moya, Ramiro & Bermúdez, Guillermo, 2011. "Argentina's Housing Market in the 2000s," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3421, Inter-American Development Bank.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10031. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.