Property markets and financial stability

Joint workshop by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank for International Settlements, Singapore, 5-6 September 2011.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) jointly organised a workshop on property markets and financial stability in Singapore on 5 September 2011. The workshop aimed to bring together academics and researchers at central banks, regulatory agencies and international organisations to present and discuss ongoing theoretical and empirical work in the field. In response to their call for papers, the organisers received 67 submissions from central banks, public agencies, international organisations and academic institutions. From these, a paper selection committee comprising staff of the BIS, the MAS and academia chose seven papers organised around the following four themes: (1) lessons from the crisis; (2) house price assessment; (3) housing booms and busts; and (4) property, credit and markets.

Property market developments are of increasing importance to central banks and financial sector supervisors. The financial crises of the past two decades, both in developing and developed countries, have illustrated just how critical the health of this sector can be for achieving financial stability. Lately, the rapid growth in real estate prices - often supported by a strong expansion in bank lending - in a number of emerging market economies has become a concern for policymakers. In response, various stabilisation measures have been adopted or are under consideration.

The papers presented at the conference were published as BIS Papers No 64 in March 2012.