Long-range dependence in the returns and volatility of the Finnish housing market

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the evidence of long-range dependence behaviour in both house price returns and volatility for fifteen main regions in Finland over the period of 1988:Q1 to 2018:Q4. These regions are divided geographically into 45 cities and sub-areas according to their postcode numbers. The studied type of dwellings is apartments (block of flats) divided into one-room, two-rooms, and more than three rooms apartments types. Design/methodology/approach For each house price return series, both parametric and semiparametric long memory approaches are used to estimate the fractional differencing parameter d in an autoregressive fractional integrated moving average [ARFIMA (p, d, q)] process. Moreover, for cities and sub-areas with significant clustering effects (autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity [ARCH] effects), the semiparametric long memory method is used to analyse the degree of persistence in the volatility by estimating the fractional differencing parameter d in both squared and absolute price returns. Findings A higher degree of predictability was found in all three apartments types price returns with the estimates of the long memory parameter constrained in the stationary and invertible interval, implying that the returns of the studied types of dwellings are long-term dependent. This high level of persistence in the house price indices differs from other assets, such as stocks and commodities. Furthermore, the evidence of long-range dependence was discovered in the house price volatility with more than half of the studied samples exhibiting long memory behaviour. Research limitations/implications Investigating the long memory behaviour in both returns and volatility of the house prices is crucial for investment, risk and portfolio management. One reason is that the evidence of long-range dependence in the housing market returns suggests a high degree of predictability of the asset. The other reason is that the presence of long memory in the housing market volatility aids in the development of appropriate time series volatility forecasting models in this market. The study outcomes will be used in modelling and forecasting the volatility dynamics of the studied types of dwellings. The quality of the data limits the analysis and the results of the study. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that assesses the long memory behaviour in the Finnish housing market. Also, it is the first study that evaluates the volatility of the Finnish housing market using data on both municipal and geographical level.