Publication Date
4-2022
Abstract
To examine housing price dynamics for Las Cruces, New Mexico, a theoretical model is developed that takes into account the supply and demand sides. The ARDL estimation methodology employed allows for more realistic market dynamics than prior studies of this residential real estate market, the second largest in New Mexico. A slightly larger sample size is also utilized. Results obtained corroborate evidence reported in several previous housing studies. Some unexpected outcomes also indicate that consistently reliable interlinkages between housing prices and explanatory variables may be elusive. Among the latter, an inverse relationship between apartment rents and single-family housing prices is most surprising. That outcome may be a consequence of a large university and college student population within Las Cruces. As post-secondary enrollments grow, faculty numbers also increase, potentially allowing both housing prices and apartment rents to increase simultaneously. That implies that apartments and single-unit houses may be complements rather than substitutes in college towns like Las Cruces. Additional research using data for other small- and medium-sized urban economies would be helpful.
Comments
Technical Report TX22-1
S.L. Fullerton and T.M. Fullerton, Jr., Las Cruces Housing Price Dynamics: 1971-2019, Technical Report TX22-1, El Paso, TX: University of Texas at El Paso Border Region Modeling Project.
A revised version of this study is forthcoming in Asian Journal of Economic Modelling.