Land Management & Economics

About the Book

This book is concerned with a unique, overall land policy optimization model, under active government policy, resulting in the sustainable effectiveness and efficiency of land policy. Such a model distinguishes it from the highly specific urban-planning land use optimization model, meant for optimizing land use specification, strategic land uses, land use restrictions and control, like zoning. Policy input is concerned with a hierarchical and structural definition of policy while ‘Additionality’ looks at land-policy output (outcome) variables, impacting broader land policy efficiency and effectiveness goals, their associated output indicators and the interaction with the macroeconomy. Long run urban policy-macroeconomy interaction is modeled in a contemporaneous cointegration model estimation, involving different sectors of the economy. The model looks at the equilibrium and optimal land-using economic activities. A dynamic interaction of land policy outcomes and their economic implications is discussed via cointegration tests and modelling. This book develops a rigorous system-dynamics-based computable general equilibrium model for direct real estate market uncertainty i.e. the frequent mismatch between office demand and supply under the impact of limited land constraint, the domestic common stock market, the macro economy and macroeconomic policy. Such dynamic interaction is structured under the demand-side and supply-side aspects. The book looks at the binomial option-pricing model by Cox, Ross and Rubinstein, to model the risk-neutral process for short term interest rates, common stock prices and Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale flat prices. Singapore’s Main Upgrading Program (MUP) is a heavily subsidized and highly targeted. Since 1992, the HDB has budgeted some S$3 billion to finance the MUP policy. A positive impact is the asset value enhancement of the HDB flats within the upgraded precincts. MUP subsidies vary significantly with the corresponding option premium. A 3-Room HDB flat owner is more inclined to opt for upgrading while the option premium is deemed to be less attractive for upgrading by the 4-Room HDB flat owner. Residents’ satisfaction level with town council (TC) services are examined, under different political parties. The concern is to ascertain a housing finance model, which analyzes the affordability of household borrowers for purchasing resale public housing. With Central Provident funds (CPF) usage, total interest paid over the loan life is significantly reduced. CPF as a financial buffer significantly reduce default risks for lender and household borrower.

About the Author

Dr HO Kim Hin / David is Honorary Professor in Development Economics & Land Economy, awarded by the UK public university, the University of Hertfordshire. He retired end-May 2019 as Professor (Associate) (Tenured) from the National University of Singapore. Professor HO spent the last thirty-one years across several sectors, which include the military, oil refining, aerospace engineering, public housing, resettlement, land acquisition, land reclamation, real estate investment , development and international real estate investing. He spent six years in the real estate career as part of the executive management group of Singapore Technologies at Pidemco Land Limited, and as part of the senior management team of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation’s GIC Real Estate Private Limited. Seventeen years have been spent in the National University of Singapore at the then School of Building and Estate Management, the Department of Real Estate, School of Design and Environment, where his research expertise is in two areas. First is international real estate in the area of risk-return behavior behind international real estate investing in direct and indirect real estate. Secondly, is urban and public policy analysis involving real estate, sea transport, public housing, land and land use. Schooled in development economics and in land economy at the University of Cambridge, England, he has effectively extended these disciplines to examine his two expertise areas. Apart from being well versed in econometrics, his quantitative interests include real estate demand and supply, investment and finance, artificial intelligent modeling in real estate and system dynamics modeling for real estate market analysis and public policy analysis. He is the Member of the Royal Economics Society (U.K.), Academic Member of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (U.S.), Fellow of the American Real Estate Society (U.S.), member of the American Economic Association (U.S.) and member of the Economic Society of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Management. He holds the degrees of Master of Philosophy (1st Class Honors with Distinction), Honorary Doctor of Letters and the Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, U.K. He has published widely in top international journals and conferences, in chapters of international academic book publishers. Dr Ho has written 7 major books (including this book), undertaken many consultancies and funded research projects. He has written a total of about 275 published works (with 91 in peer reviewed, reputable international journals). He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Economics & Public Finance, Real Estate Economics journal, Journal of Property Research, Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics, the Property Management journal and the International Journal of Strategic Property Management. He has published widely in conferences, Finance, chapters of international academic book publishers, undertaken many consultancies and funded research projects. He is an immediate past Governor of the St Gabriel's Foundation that oversees nine schools in Singapore; and a District Judge equivalent member of the Valuation Review Board, Ministry of Finance, Singapore, and the Singapore Courts.