Investor attention and house prices in the Australian housing market.

This dissertation comprises two studies that examine the relationship between investor attention and house prices in the Australian housing market. The first study (Chapter 2) investigates the correlation between investor attention, measured by the Google Search Volume Index, and house prices in Australia. It uncovers a strong positive correlation, indicating that fluctuations in investor attention closely align with changes in house prices. The study also highlights the predictive potential of investor attention in forecasting housing market trends, supported by behavioural finance principles that emphasise the impact of investor sentiment on asset pricing, particularly in real estate.

The second study (Chapter 3) explores the bidirectional relationship between house prices and investor attention using OLS regression, VAR modeling, Granger causality tests, impulse response functions, and forecast error variance decomposition. The findings confirm that investor attention significantly influences housing prices, and past house prices can also impact current investor attention. In addition, short-term shocks in house prices cause fluctuations in investor attention, although these effects are transient. This study underscores the importance of integrating investor attention with traditional economic factors to better understand and predict housing market dynamics.

These empirical studies contribute significantly to the literature on investor attention and housing market dynamics, representing some of the earliest empirical inquiries into the relation between housing market fluctuations and investor attention. By bridging these two critical domains, the research provides valuable insights for policymakers, real estate investors, and market analysts. The findings also lay a foundation for scholars and practitioners to enhance housing market analysis and prediction, offering substantial implications for market forecasting and intervention strategies.