Housing Markets

Catalog description

This course is designed for students interested in the economics and operations of housing markets. It is primarily a U.S.-focused course. The class is divided into five sections: (1) economic analysis of housing market fundamentals (supply and demand); (2) a policy analysis section on housing affordability issues in the U.S.; (3) operations of homebuilders and rental landlords, as well as the single family rental sector; this section includes a series of guest lecturers from industry executives; (4) the nature of housing cycles; and (5) a discussion of factors that have affected the evolution of housing markets over the long run. This course presumes knowledge of intermediate microeconomics. For Wharton students, this means you must have passed MGEC 6110. Non-Wharton students should have taken the equivalent course in the College. The class is primarily lecture based, although we will have one flipped class, as well as a number of guest lecturers from industry. There are two in-class midterms and two assignments.