Urban House Prices: A Tale of 48 Cities

This book compares in a comprehensive way house prices in almost 50 large European cities ranging from Yekaterinburg to Lisbon. Based on the dwelling-specific data from Internet announcements and a wide range of city-specific socio-economic and demographic indicators the authors estimate the quality-adjusted prices and identify whether they are in line with the fundamental values. The study finds that income per capita, population density, unemployment rate, and income inequality are the most important factors affecting housing prices. Moreover, cities with under- and overvalued home prices are identified. Eleven cities have a square meter price that is 20% lower and 7 cities have 20% higher square meter price than the fundamental price. Notably, Paris, London, and Moscow are overvalued but rather moderately by 15.3%, 8.5%, and 6.3%, respectively.