Articles & papers
RESEARCH | Extending the frontiers
In their study on China’s Housing Purchase Restriction policy, Qian, Tu, Wu and Xu (2022) observed post-policy capital misallocation which eventually resulted in significant trading losses.
In their 2024 working paper, Chen, Du and Ma investigate how the effects of China’s Three Red Lines policy had spread beyond the real estate sector.
Agarwal, Qian, Ren, Tsai and Yeung (2020) investigate how mobile-payment channels can positively impact the economy when used as a substitute for cash.
Agarwal, Araral, Fan, Qin and Zheng (2024) find persistently elevated water and electricity consumption among households in retrofitted residential buildings following green certification.
Using housing consumption as an indicator, Agarwal, Fan, Qian and Sing (2023) investigate the impact of Singapore’s large-scale public housing on intergenerational mobility.
Using Covid-19 quarantines as quasi-experimental interventions, Lee, Mai and Park (2023) investigate the impact of green space on mental health amid mobility restrictions.
Hawker culture in Singapore scored a resounding goal when it gained official recognition by UNESCO in 2020. But amid a challenging landscape, will this time-honoured trade survive despite the prestigious accolade?
With current housing policies focused on disincentivising multiple homeownership, an empty homes tax could target another dimension by raising housing availability for renters.
Sustainability efforts may end up passing the buck to another point along the supply chain, resulting in a heavier carbon footprint there. In their study, Fan et al. investigate how retired coal-fired plants in China shifted the burden of production to existing plants.
Zheng (2023) finds that sustainable investments respond favourably to climate policies, and the underlying drivers are nonpecuniary social mandates of climate mitigation and adaptation rather than financial gain.
In their study of consumer response to the Great Singapore Sale, Agarwal, Koo and Qian (2022) show that substitution behaviours dampen overall consumption, and raise implications for the effectiveness of such mega-sales events.
Agarwal, Araral, Fan, Qin and Zheng (2023) investigate the effects of price and subsidy increases on water conservation in Singapore and the welfare implications.
Agarwal, Qian, Yeung and Zheng (2022) investigate how a permanent income tax increase in Singapore impacted the affluent and elevated consumption for the low-income groups.
Agarwal, Qian, Ruan and Yeung (2022) investigate how recipients respond to the additional income from the scheme, and discuss the policy implications of their findings.
In their working paper, Wang and Tu (2022) investigate how pandemic-induced phenomena such as working from home and e-commerce have impacted residents’ need for quietness.
Diao, Fan and Sing (2021) investigate developers’ pricing strategies in response to ABSD measures, and examine how this ABSD policy brings welfare gains for homebuyers.
Redevelopment potential is highly correlated with hedonic attributes of properties and is difficult to measure ex-post. Using the data of en bloc sales in Singapore, Chia and Sing (2020) empirically disentangle and quantify values of redevelopment potentials embedded in old properties.
In their study on how parental bankruptcy affects older children more than their younger siblings, Agarwal, Sing and Zhang (2022) make a case for starting financial education during early childhood.
Using the Circle Line as an exogenous intervention, Dai et al. (2020) isolate and quantify the impact of the transit line on commuting behaviour.
A study of Singapore’s Home Office Scheme (HOS) finds evidence for a causal relationship between the HOS and the creation of new businesses.
In a study that matched online portal listings with successful transactions, Sing and Zou (2021) found that online agents typically enjoy better sales and higher prices.
While proximity to mass rapid transit (MRT) stations is often touted as a boon for property prices, Diao, Li, Sing and Zhan (2021) examine how noise for being close to MRT rail tracks triggers a contrary effect.
Campaigns persuading consumers to save energy have demonstrated a tendency to fall on deaf ears, but monetary motivation appears to be effective. In their paper "Public Media Campaign and Energy Conservation: A Natural Experiment in Singapore", Agarwal, Sing and Sultana (2022) find that publicity campaigns that were forthcoming about economic gains or cost savings drove the desired behaviours in consumers.
In their paper “Tying the knot in a new home: consumption responses to a pro-marriage housing policy”, Agarwal et al. deep dive into the co-movements between the housing and marriage markets, and construct a plausible case for a causative relationship between the two variables.
Consumption patterns change in tandem with affluence. In their paper, “Macroeconomic policy-induced wealth effects on Chinese foreign housing investments”, Fan and Sing (2021) find evidence of conspicuous consumption of residential real estate in Singapore by Chinese foreign buyers who had experienced wealth effect.
OPINION | Thought-leadership on current issues
Communities worldwide are struggling with droughts, heatwaves and storms on an unprecedented scale. According to the World Economic Forum, some 40.5 million people were displaced in 2020, the highest level in 10 years. In face of a looming catastrophe, how can businesses step in as a decisive force for change? In particular, what are the obligations of real estate - which is currently responsible for a tremendous carbon footprint?
Climate change, rising temperatures, and climbing sea levels threaten to overwhelm us in a not too distant future. Can the entrepreneurial spirit of capitalism be harnessed to undo its mistakes, and if it is indeed possible, how then do we go about doing it?
With 42 real estate investment trusts (REITS) collectively accounting for a market capitalisation of around S$100bn, Singapore has the largest REIT market in Asia (ex-Japan). Yet, in a departure from the global market leader, REITS here are externally managed in contrast to the US, which overwhelmingly adopts the internal-management approach. In a lively debate, industry experts invited by IREUS exchange opinions, experience and insights on how best to run a REIT.
At the first plenary session of the 2021 Virtual Joint Real Estate Conference held in July, a panel of industry experts comprising Dr Liu Thai Ker, Dr Cheong Koon Hean, Professor Lam Khee Poh and Mr Cheng Hsing Yao discussed how real estate can frame a sustainable, long-term response to Covid-19. The session was moderated by Dr Seek Ngee Huat, Chairman of the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies.