In this paper, I estimate the valuation of flood risks in Sweden by looking at property sales. A hedonic price model combined with a distance defined difference-in-differences method is used to estimate the marginal change in property prices following increased salience in information regarding flood risks. The results reveal a robust effect on properties close to predicted floods from the sea. The willingness to pay

for increasing the distance to the predicted flooded area is estimated to be between 0.1 and 0.2% per meter using a linear specification. When allowing the marginal effect to differ depending on the distance fo the risk area it goes from no effect inside and close to the risk area to 1% at a distance of 100 meters. This implies that the effect is driven by the sales of properties that have some distance, but are still very close, to areas at risk of flooding

We study the effect of the introduction of the Deutschlandticket (DT), a large-scale German policy intervention that substantially decreased the costs of commuting by public transport, on housing prices. We use the introduction of the DT and cross-sectional variation in the reduction of commuting costs (by commuting distance) in a continuous-treatment difference-in-differences (DiD) setting. Our analyses are based on detailed data on commuting patterns on a municipality-pair level and extensive data on rental offerings from three large online platforms for our analyses. We document a small increase in relative rents in municipality pairs with higher cost savings from the DT. The effect is driven by smaller apartments and by municipality pairs with more feasible public transport commutes. Further heterogeneity results suggest that commuters use the cost savings to pay higher rents in more attractive housing locations, which aggravates existing housing market pressure in urban areas.

We analyze the real estate industry's influence on local housing supply in California, with a focus on how city council members with real estate backgrounds affect building permits from 1995 to 2019. Using data on candidate occupations and a close elections regression discontinuity design, we find that electing a developer to city council increases the number of housing units approved by 68% during their term. This effect dissipates after the first term, suggesting that developers primarily influence zoning decisions rather than help pass broader regulatory reforms. Our analysis of council votes reveals that developers are particularly effective in securing discretionary zoning changes. Furthermore, we find no evidence of electoral backlash, indicating that voters generally support housing construction. In a time when building new housing is difficult, our study suggests that electing pro-housing candidates could help expand housing supply.

This study investigates the impact of property taxation on housing supply using a comprehensive dataset of 22,913 property tax rate changes across German municipalities. Leveraging an event study approach, we identify significant negative effects of property tax increases on the property tax base, housing supply, and local population growth, with the strongest impacts observed in small and West German municipalities. Our findings underscore the distortive effects of property taxation on housing markets, indicating that higher property taxes may exacerbate housing shortages. Notably, as taxable property values in Germany remain fixed and independent of tax rates, our analysis isolates the extensive margin response of the property tax base—manifested through changes in housing supply—in reaction to tax hikes.