Ed Coulson
Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Real Estate UC Irvine
- Irvine CA
N. Edward Coulson teaches in the area of Economics and Public Policy and serves in the school’s Center for Real Estate.
Media
Social
Biography
Coulson received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD from UC San Diego, where he studied under the direction of Nobel Laureate Robert Engle. He previously served as professor of Economics and director of the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Prior to UNLV, he served as professor of Economics and King Faculty Fellow in Real Estate at The Pennsylvania State University where he had been a member of the faculty since 1984 and had received numerous outstanding teaching awards.
Among the many topics Professor Coulson has done research on are: the mismeasurement of rent in the Consumer Price Index, and its implications for macroeconomic policy; the bias in residential appraisals; the impact of homeownership on people’s lives and neighborhoods; home prices; multifamily housing and its management; historic districts; the relationship between REITs and other asset markets; and many others. His co-edited book Energy Efficiency and the Future of Real Estate was published by Palgrave Press in 2017,
In addition to his extensive research, Coulson has served as co-editor of numerous journals and served as president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA) in 2016.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
George Bloom Award for Lifetime Service
2024
American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
Outstanding Editorial Board Member Award
2003
Real Estate Economics
Education
University of California, San Diego
PhD
Economics
1983
University of California, Riverside
BSc
Economics
1977
Affiliations
- Journal of Regional Science : Editor
- Journal of Housing Economics : Editor
- Real Estate Economics : Editorial Board
- Journal of Urban Economics : Editorial Board
- Regional Science and Urban Economics : Editorial Board
Media Appearances
Homebuyers are still waiving inspections. Could the latest Fed rate cut help turn the tide?
Marketplace online
2024-09-30
Edward Coulson, a real estate expert, said we’re in a market that favors sellers, but it’s cyclical, which means he thinks there will be a point in time where buyers regain some bargaining power. … Homeowners who are locked into the low mortgages they got during the early years of the pandemic have been reluctant to sell their home and buy another one at a higher rate, explained Coulson, who’s an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the director of the school’s Center for Real Estate. Coulson said he thinks that may have contributed to the housing shortage.
Does the presidential election take a bite out of small businesses?
Marketplace online
2024-09-27
Higher rates mean the cost of borrowing goes up, which translates to higher auto, credit card and mortgage rates. That in turn can weaken consumer spending. “A rise in interest rates depresses all kinds of investment, including investing in buying a home,” said Edward Coulson, an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the director of the school’s Center for Real Estate. Home sales are also seasonal and generally decline in the colder months, because “you don’t want to go house shopping in the middle of a blizzard,” Coulson said. Plus, parents want stability as the school year begins.
How low could mortgage rates drop in 2025? Here's what experts say
CBS News online
2024-08-29
In the post-pandemic era, homebuyers faced unprecedented challenges, as mortgage rates climbed to the highest levels since the early 2000s. …"It has certainly made borrowing more expensive, and discouraged some households from becoming homeowners," says Edward Coulson, professor of economics and public policy and director of the Center of Real Estate at UCI Paul Merage School of Business. "It has also impacted current homeowners, who hold mortgages with low rates, from changing houses because they don't want to trade in their low payments for higher payments."
Will home prices finally drop this fall? Experts weigh in
CBS News online
2024-08-26
Potential buyers hoping for more affordable home prices this fall are likely to be disappointed. "House prices have remained high in most areas in spite of higher mortgage rates, which would normally have lowered demand," says Edward Coulson, professor of economics and public policy and director of the Center of Real Estate at UCI Paul Merage School of Business. "There is no reason to think that house prices will fall, especially if interest rates come down."
Looking for a housing deal with lower rates? Economists say not so fast
The Orange County Register online
2024-07-11
UCI economics professor, Edward Coulson, predicts home price appreciation will continue to rise at 10% per year. … Based on his own research groups’ project, Coulson at UCI believes the inflation rate is zero. “Rents are flat in most of the country,” he said. “The Fed’s data is six to eight months behind. The Fed’s data currently indicates 2-3% inflation.” He thinks the Fed will drop short-term rates by one-quarter percent, probably in September. And he sees mortgage rates going down by a quarter-percent by the end of the year. Home price appreciation, he predicts, will continue to rise at 10% per year.
Realtors settlement brings confusion, relief to Southern California’s real estate industry
The Orange County Register online
2024-03-17
Ed Coulson, director of the Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine, predicted the settlement could have a major impact on agent earnings and commission rates. People accepted 5-6% commission rates as if it were a rule, which it’s not, he said. … “I think the thing that is most important is we don’t know the impact on prices. There’s been a lot of speculation it would lower house prices, but that depends on the seller folding the commission into the house price. And I’m very uncertain that we know the extent to which that happens.”
Orange County named the hardest place to find an apartment in California
KCBS/KCAL online
2024-03-01
A new report shows that moving to Orange County is becoming nearly impossible. "A lot of that has to do with housing supply," UC Irvine professor Ed Coulson said. "The amount of new construction for apartments in Southern California — California in general — is pretty low. It's a state that puts a lot of barriers between vacant ground and new supply coming on to the market."
Why this UCI economist says the Fed misread rent inflation
The Orange County Register online
2023-11-26
Rent hikes soared into the double-digits in mid-2021, but the Federal Reserve didn’t start raising interest rates until a year later. Ed Coulson, director of the Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine, believes the Fed should have acted sooner. And because rent is now leveling off, he thinks the Fed should halt future interest rate hikes. … “The Fed’s policy is driven by their perceptions of inflation. And I argue with some co-authors that that perception is incorrect. And the reason it’s incorrect, ironically, has to do with the housing market,” says Coulson.
Crackdown on Airbnb Hosts Spurs Lawsuits, Losses, Longer Stays
Bloomberg online
2023-09-01
Month-to-month rentals aren’t new, but they’ve traditionally been at the lower end of the market with low-quality housing targeted at people with uncertain employment or low incomes, said [Professor] Edward Coulson, director of research at the University of California Irvine Center for Real Estate. That’s changing. “Transitioning into the medium-stay market means that you’re going to have units all across the quality spectrum that are available for month-to-month leases,” Coulson said.
Articles
An Alternative Approach to Estimating Foreclosure and Short Sale Discounts
Journal of Urban Economics2023
Current research documents astonishingly large price discounts for foreclosures and short sales. However, such outsized estimates may largely be due to omitted variables bias. We propose an innovative methodology relying on appraisers’ ability to match properties along both observable and unobservable attributes when performing appraisals.
Housing Rents and Inflation Rates
Journal of Money, Credit and Banking2022
This paper develops a quality-adjusted measure of marginal housing rents using a monthly statistic of landlord net rental income. The marginal rent index (MRI) exhibits deflation during recessions and leads the official rent index by 7 months.
Distressed comps
Real Estate Economics2022
We consider the use and impact of distressed properties as comparables in residential appraisals. First, we describe the incidence of their use and their relative comparability; second, we estimate their impact on the appraisal value itself; and third, we consider their impact on the probability that the appraisal is below the proposed transaction price.
Job match and housing tenure
Real Estate Economics2022
Homeownership, though it brings both private and social benefits, entails substantial fixed costs. Standard personal financial advice suggests that homeownership should only be undertaken when one's job situation is stable and job movement is not likely in the near future.
