ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether house prices in ASEAN+3 countries have indeed been on the rise at rapid enough paces to generate concern for a sharp correction. It provides preliminary assessments on house prices of the region. The chapter reviews the historical development of the region's house prices, while more detailed trends of each country are documented in the Appendix. It presents the possibility of contagion across countries, including the US. The chapter provides further explanations of house price developments in comparison with the macro-economic fundamentals such as income growth, financial conditions short-term interest rate and general inflation. It discusses the recent debate regarding monetary and financial policies in relation to the asset price fluctuations such as house prices. It is also found that the house prices of the ASEAN+3 region have not been greatly influenced by the US market, with a possible exception of China.
