The inaugural issue of the Journal of Housing Research was published by Fannie Mae’s Office of Housing Policy Research in 1990, featuring seven articles with the theme “Mortgage Markets in the Year 2000.” This introductory volume, in which researchers considered how the next decade would reshape the business of mortgage lending, was met with great interest. Following upon this success, Fannie Mae continued to publish two issues of the journal each year for the next decade, developing the Journal of Housing Research’s mission to provide an outlet for theoretical and empirical research on housing policy, mortgage markets, and international housing finance. After this first decade, however, Fannie Mae decided that it no longer wanted to be in the business of producing an academic journal, publishing its final issue of the Journal of Housing Research in 2003.
The modern era of the Journal of Housing Research began in 2005 after a brief break in publication. At this time, the American Real Estate Society (ARES) agreed to purchase the Journal of Housing Research from Fannie Mae. The ARES leadership selected Dr. Len Zumpano, professor at the University of Alabama, to serve as the journal’s first executive editor. Dr. Zumpano recruited a former student, Dr. Shelton Weeks, to serve as the journal’s managing editor. Together, they re-established journal operations and the journal’s editorial board. In 2006, the first ARES edition of the Journal of Housing Research was published along with an introduction from Dr. Zumpano and Dr. Weeks. Their goal was not to change the identity of the journal, but to expand the scope beyond housing finance.
The initial selection of Dr. Zumpano as the first ARES editor of the Journal of Housing Research would end up having an enormous impact on the next fifteen years. At this time, research related to home buying and selling, agency, and hedonic pricing started to become more visible research themes for the journal. Dr. Zumpano’s influence on this area of scholarship would not only impact the publications in the journal but also the future editors.
In 2011, Dr. Zumpano, Dr. Weeks, Dr. Ken Johnson, and Dr. Justin Benefield (both former students of Dr. Zumpano) were selected by ARES to serve as the next editorship team for the journal. Over this five-year period, the Journal of Housing Research successfully established its place among academic journals while increasing submission numbers and decreasing acceptance rates.
By 2015, Dr. Zumpano and Dr. Weeks were ready to retire from the editorship team. At this time, the editors brought on one of Dr. Zumpano’s final doctoral students, Dr. Kimberly Goodwin to serve as managing editor. Dr. Goodwin, the first female editor of an ARES journal, oversaw the transition from the paper and email submissions to a fully electronic submission and review system. During this time, the editors also sought to expand the scope of housing research once again to bring in more urban economics research. Dr. Geoffrey Turnbull and Dr. Velma Zahirovic-Herbert joined the editorial team to help develop the journal’s added focus on housing and urban economics. At this time, the editorship team consisted of Drs. Johnson, Benefield, Turnbull, Goodwin, and Zahirovic-Herbert.
In 2018, ARES issued an RFP for a new editorship team. At this time, Fannie Mae re-entered the brief history of the Journal of Housing Research. Dr. Michael LaCour-Little, who had recently started working at Fannie Mae, joined the editorship team. Dr. LaCour-Little had been involved as an authors and reviewer for the Journal of Housing Research during the journal’s early years.
For the past few years, ARES, Fannie Mae, and the editors have worked to develop their collective interest in the journal’s success. Fannie Mae now provides financial support for the publication of the Journal of Housing Research, and ARES manages the operations and editorial strategy of the journal. The current editorship team consists of Drs. Johnson, Benefield, Turnbull, Goodwin, Zahirovic-Herbert, and LaCour-Little. As we look forward to the next decade, it is nice to see all of these interests come together for the purpose of expanding the understanding of housing research. Perhaps the next phase of the journal’s evolution will increase its coverage of international housing markets and research.
University of Southern Mississippi
Len Zumpano
University of Alabama, retired