Renegade Asset Markets

Local markets with tight land use controls result in prices rising relative to wages and affordability. Affordability is eased by unconventional but risky finance. Tight land use and loose financing in these renegade markets concentrates the impact of national or international shocks. A positive demand shock raises prices in these tight markets. If ongoing price momentum is expected, households switch to ownership and landlords reduce the rental stock. House prices, rents and occupancy rise and fall together in these markets. A five-equation sequential structure in land use, financial contracts, house prices, rents and vacancy for 17 United States cities confirms geographical concentration. Coastal California and South Florida are fundamentally risky markets. Discount rates there are three percentage points higher than the sample median. Two percentage points are attributable to land use and the other to unconventional finance. National and international financial crises are highly concentrated regionally.