A model-free test of rational bubbles: an application to the US housing market

The recent house price appreciation in the United States has renewed the interest in determining the existence of ”bubbles”. We provide a model-free test of rational bubbles and apply it to the U.S. housing market. We derive that there exists a bubble when an increase in the current account deficit...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Basco, Sergi, Schäfer-i-Paradís, Maximilian
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/220807
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/220807
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Negocis immobiliaris
Habitatge
Bombolla immobiliària
Economia de mercat
Real estate business
Housing
Real estate bubble
Market economy
Descripción
Sumario:The recent house price appreciation in the United States has renewed the interest in determining the existence of ”bubbles”. We provide a model-free test of rational bubbles and apply it to the U.S. housing market. We derive that there exists a bubble when an increase in the current account deficit raises house prices and they are exacerbated in housing supply inelastic municipalities. We apply this test using metropolitan statistical area data between 1990 and 2022. We consider three suspect episodes: (i) 1996-2000, (ii) 2002- 2006 and (ii) 2020-22. Our findings are consistent with the existence of only one housing bubble episode (2002-06). A strength of this test is that it can be easily applied in real time in any country.