This paper investigates the mutual dependence between housing prices and housing credit in Estonia, a country which experienced rapid debt accumulation during the 2000s and big swings in house prices during that period. We use Bayesian econometric methods on data spanning 2000–2015. The estimations show the interdependence between house prices and housing credit. More importantly, housing credit shocks had a stronger effect on house prices in the period of declining credit turnover. The asymmetry in the linkage between housing credit and house prices highlights important policy implications, in that if central banks increase capital buffers during good times, they can release credit conditions during hard times to alleviate the negative spillover into house prices and the real economy.
DOI: 10.23656/25045520/22017/0140
JEL Codes: E32, E44, E51, G21, R21, R31
Keywords: house prices, housing credit, credit cycle, asymmetries, Bayesian
