Chris Leishman

Research Interests

Applied Economics Econometrics Economic Development and Growth Housing Markets, Development, Management Population Trends and Policies

Prof Chris Leishman

Professor of Property and Housing Economics

School of Accounting and Finance

College of Business and Law

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Available For Media Comment.

Professor Chris Leishman is a housing economist, and one of Australia’s leading housing researchers. He is also a non-executive director of Housing Choices Australia – a not for profit community housing provider active in South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Chris is best known for his work on modelling housing supply and housing need in Australia and the UK. He is an editor of the academic journal Urban Studies and a past Editor-in-Chief of the Housing Studies journal. He works extensively with government at national, state and local levels and is focused on research projects that make a difference to people either directly, or through influencing policy change. He is the author of many recent research reports that have studied the impact of COVID-19 on the housing system and the economy, and a major study about to be published on the links between population change, migration and economic productivity.

Date Position Institution name
2017 - ongoing Director of CHURP University of Adelaide
2012 - ongoing Professor of Housing Economics Heriot-Watt University
2006 - 2012 Professor of Housing and Urban Economics University of Glasgow
2004 - 2006 Senior Lecturer Heriot-Watt University
1999 - 2004 Lecturer Heriot-Watt University
1998 - 1999 Research Associate University of Paisley
1997 - 1997 Research Associate University of Aberdeen
1996 - 1996 Lecturer (part-time) Heriot-Watt University

Year Citation
2025 Vij, A., Ardeshiri, A., Washington, L., Leishman, C., & Beer, A. (2025). Predicting the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on household location preferences: the rise of red giant and white dwarf cities. Regional Studies, 59(1).
DOI
2025 Pilat, C., & Leishman, C. (2025). Strategic underpricing and time-on-market: evidence from South Australia's housing market. International Journal Of Housing Markets And Analysis, 18(7), 66-86.
DOI
2025 Leishman, C., & Goel, S. (2025). Amenities and housing market dynamics: Implications for population change, urban attractiveness, innovation, and productivity. Urban Studies, 62(7), 1269-1292.
DOI Scopus2 WoS3
2025 Leishman, C., Abebe, F., Baker, E., Kim, S., & Reid, A. (2025). The willingness to pay and the willingness to stay in privately rented housing. Housing Studies, online, 1-32.
DOI
2025 Leishman, C., Hewton, J., Viforj, R. O., Washington, L., Zhang, R., & Liang, W. (2025). The impact of Commonwealth Rent Assistance on low-income privately renting parents and children. Ahuri Final Report, (446), 1-70.
DOI
2025 Singh, R., ViforJ, R. O., Leishman, C., & Hewton, J. (2025). Modelling landlord behaviour and its impact on rental affordability: Insights across two decades. Ahuri Final Report, (440), 1-85.
DOI
2024 Hincks, S., Leishman, C., Pham, H., & Preece, J. (2024). Valuing the 'new normal'? Housing markets under COVID-19: insights from a hybrid hedonic repeat sales model. Environment And Planning B-Urban Analytics And City Science, online(7), 1-16.
DOI
2024 Ardeshiri, A., Washington, L., Vij, A., Leishman, C., & Beer, A. (2024). Housing preferences for owner-occupied versus investment properties in Sydney, Australia. Housing Studies, online(12), 1-37.
DOI
2024 Baker, E., Beer, A., Leishman, C., Vij, A., Stone, W., Morey, C., . . . Pomeroy, S. (2024). Planning for a two-tenure future. AHURI Final Report, 2024(431), 1-85.
DOI Scopus2
2024 Bond Smith, S., & Leishman, C. (2024). Threshold regressions for more objective urban and regional policies. Cities, 149(104925), 1-12.
DOI
2023 Leishman, C., Liang, W., & Sim, N. (2023). The impact of urban population on housing cost: the case of Australia. npj Urban Sustainability, 3(57), 1-11.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2022 Leishman, C., & Liang, W. (2022). An alternative approach to estimating agglomeration and productivity using geography, demography and evidence from satellite imagery. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 9(1), 45-65.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2022 Leishman, C., Aminpour, F., Baker, E., Beer, A., Crowe, A., Goodall, Z., . . . Viforj, R. O. (2022). Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic housing policy responses. AHURI Final Report, (376), 1-78.
DOI Scopus14
2022 Rowley, S., Leishman, C., Olatunji, O., Zuo, J., & Crowe, A. (2022). Understanding How Policy Settings Affect Developer Decisions. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Final Report Series, (384), 1-87.
DOI Scopus4
2021 Leishman, C., Bond-Smith, S., Liang, W., Long, J., MacLennan, D., & Rowley, S. (2021). Relationships between metropolitan, satellite and regional city size, spatial context and economic productivity. Ahuri Final Report, (357), 1-78.
DOI Scopus3
2021 Leishman, C., Gurran, N., James, A., & Nygaard, C. (2021). Inquiry into population, migration and agglomeration. Ahuri Final Report, (371), 1-59.
DOI Scopus2
2021 Baker, E., Pham, A., Leishman, C., Daniel, L., & Bentley, R. (2021). Urban social housing pathways: a linked administrative data analysis. Urban Policy and Research, 39(1), 1-15.
DOI Scopus6 WoS4
2021 Aguda, D., & Leishman, C. (2021). Neighbourhood effects, social capital and young adults' homeownership outcomes in the United Kingdom. Housing, Theory and Society, 38(5), 669-687.
DOI Scopus3 WoS2
2020 Rowley, S., Crowe, A., Gilbert, C., Kruger, M., Leishman, C., & Zuo, J. (2020). Responding to the Pandemic, Can Building Homes Rebuild Australia?. AHURI Final Report, 341(341), 1-88.
DOI Scopus1
2019 Costello, G., Leishman, C., Rowley, S., & Watkins, C. (2019). Drivers of spatial change in urban housing submarkets. The Geographical Journal, 185(4), 432-446.
DOI Scopus17 WoS18
2017 Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2017). Assessing the spatial impact of policy interventions on real-estate values: an exemplar of the use of the hybrid hedonic/repeat-sales method. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 4(1), 202-217.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7
2017 Stephens, M., & Leishman, C. (2017). Housing and poverty: a longitudinal analysis. Housing Studies, 32(8), 1039-1061.
DOI Scopus28 WoS27
2016 Leishman, C. (2016). Introducing Methodological papers. Urban Studies, 53(12), 2451-2452.
DOI
2015 Leishman, C. (2015). Housing supply and suppliers: are the microeconomics of housing developers important?. Proceedings of After the Crisis: Housing Policy and Finance in the U.S. and the U.K., as published in Housing Studies, 30(4), 580-600.
DOI Scopus22 WoS16
2013 Leishman, C., Costello, G., Rowley, S., & Watkins, C. (2013). The predictive performance of multilevel models of housing sub-markets: a comparative analysis. Urban Studies, 50(6), 1201-1220.
DOI Scopus40 WoS38
2013 Hincks, S., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2013). Introduction planning and housing: concepts, policy instruments and market analysis. Town Planning Review, 84(1), 1-7.
DOI Scopus11 WoS8
2012 Adams, D., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2012). Housebuilder networks and residential land markets. Urban Studies, 49(4), 705-720.
DOI Scopus33 WoS22
2012 Chen, Y., Gibb, K., Leishman, C., & Wright, R. (2012). The impact of population ageing on house prices: a micro-simulation approach. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 59(5), 523-542.
DOI Scopus18 WoS16
2012 Leishman, C., Orr, A., & Pellegrini-Masini, G. (2012). The impact of carbon emission reducing design features on office occupiers' choice of premises. Urban Studies, 49(11), 2419-2437.
DOI Scopus17 WoS11
2011 Pellegrini-Masini, G., & Leishman, C. (2011). The role of corporate reputation and employees' values in the uptake of energy efficiency in office buildings. Energy Policy, 39(9), 5409-5419.
DOI Scopus32 WoS27
2010 Chris, L., & Munro, M. (2010). Editorial. Housing Studies, 25(1), 1-3.
DOI
2009 Leishman, C. (2009). Spatial change and the structure of urban housing sub-markets. Housing Studies, 24(5), 563-585.
DOI Scopus74 WoS62
2009 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & MacDonald, C. (2009). Sustainable urban form and residential development viability. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 41(7), 1667-1690.
DOI Scopus29 WoS25
2009 Adams, D., Leishman, C., & Moore, C. (2009). Why not build faster? Explaining the speed at which British house-builders develop new homes for owner-occupation. Town Planning Review, 80(3), 291-314.
DOI Scopus51 WoS38
2008 Bramley, G., Leishman, C., & Watkins, D. (2008). Understanding neighbourhood housing markets: regional context, disequilibrium, sub-markets and supply. Housing Studies, 23(2), 179-212.
DOI Scopus30 WoS25
2006 Case, B., Colwell, P. F., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2006). The impact of environmental contamination on condo prices: A hybrid repeat-sale/hedonic approach. Real Estate Economics, 34(1), 77-107.
DOI Scopus40 WoS32
2006 Leishman, C., & Warren, F. (2006). Private housing design customization through house type substitution. Construction Management and Economics, 24(2), 149-158.
DOI Scopus12 WoS8
2006 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & Orr, A. M. (2006). The revaluation of council tax bands: More than rearranging the deck chairs. Policy and Politics, 34(2), 219-239.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6
2006 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & Orr, A. M. (2006). The potential impact of reforms to the essential parameters of the council tax. Fiscal Studies, 27(2), 205-229.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5
2006 Jones, C., & Leishman, C. (2006). Spatial dynamics of the housing market: An interurban perspective. Urban Studies, 43(7), 1041-1059.
DOI Scopus54 WoS48
2005 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2005). Housing market processes, urban housing submarkets and planning policy. Town Planning Review, 76(2), 215-233.
DOI Scopus37 WoS31
2005 Leishman, C., & Bramley, G. (2005). A local housing market model with spatial interaction and land-use planning controls. Environment and Planning A, 37(9), 1637-1649.
DOI Scopus34 WoS26
2005 Bramley, G., & Leishman, C. (2005). Planning and housing supply in two-speed Britain: Modelling local market outcomes. Urban Studies, 42(12), 2213-2244.
DOI Scopus46 WoS32
2004 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2004). Intra-urban migration and housing submarkets: Theory and evidence. Housing Studies, 19(2), 269-283.
DOI Scopus75 WoS63
2004 Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2004). The decision-making behaviour of office occupiers. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 22(4), 307-319.
DOI Scopus24
2003 Jones, C., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2003). Structural change in a local urban housing market. Environment and Planning A, 35(7), 1315-1326.
DOI Scopus60 WoS46
2003 Leishman, C., Warren, F. J., Dunse, N. A., & Watkins, C. (2003). Office space requirements: Comparing occupiers’ preferences with agents’ perceptions. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 21(1), 45-60.
DOI Scopus17
2003 Jones, C. (2003). Practical COX-1 and COX-2 pharmacology: What's it all about?. PAIN, 1-5.
WoS13
2002 Dunse, N., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2002). Testing for the existence of office sub-markets: A comparison of evidence from two cities. Urban Studies, 39(3), 483-506.
DOI Scopus28 WoS26
2002 Fraser, W. D., Leishman, C., & Tarbert, H. (2002). The long-run diversification attributes of commercial property. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 20(4), 354-373.
DOI Scopus10
2002 Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2002). Estimating local repeat sales house price indices for British cities. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 20(1), 36-58.
DOI Scopus27
2001 Dunse, N., Leishman, C., & Watkins, C. (2001). Classifying office submarkets. Journal of Property Investment Finance, 19(3), 236-250.
DOI Scopus21
2001 Leishman, C. (2001). House building and product differentiation: An hedonic price approach. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 16(2), 131-152.
DOI Scopus30
2000 Leishman, C., Jones, C., & Fraser, W. (2000). The influence of uncertainty on house builder behaviour and residential land values. Journal of Property Research, 17(2), 147-168.
DOI Scopus28

Year Citation
2024 Gibb, K., Leishman, C., Marsh, A., Meen, G., Viforj, R. O., & Watkins, C. (2024). Introduction. In The Routledge Handbook of Housing Economics (pp. 1-12). Routledge.
DOI
2024 Leishman, C. (2024). Understanding the role of new housing supply through macro, micro and behavioural perspectives. In K. Gibb (Ed.), Source details - Title: The Routledge Handbook of Housing Economics (pp. 121-132). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2024 Gibb, K., Leishman, C., Marsh, A., Meen, G., Rachel Ong Vifor, J., & Watkins, C. (2024). INTRODUCTION. In Routledge Handbook of Housing Economics (pp. 1-11).
DOI
2024 Leishman, C., & Goel, S. (2024). Econometric methods in housing research. In K. Jacobs (Ed.), Source details - Title: Research handbook on housing, the home and society (pp. 122-140). US: Edward Elgar Publishing.
DOI
2024 Gibb, K., Leishman, C., Marsh, A., Meen, G., Ong Vifor, J. R., & Watkins, C. (2024). Introduction - The Routledge Handbook of Housing Economics. In K. etal. (Ed.), Source details - Title: The Routledge Handbook of Housing Economics (pp. 1-11). UK: Routledge.
DOI
2012 Leishman, C., & Rowley, S. (2012). Affordable housing. In D. Clapham, W. Clark, & K. Gibb (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Housing Studies (pp. 379-396). United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.
DOI Scopus49
2010 Jones, C., Leishman, C., MacDonald, C., Orr, A., & Watkins, D. (2010). Economic viability. In M. Jenks, & C. Jones (Eds.), Source details - Title: Dimensions of the Sustainable City (1 ed., pp. 145-162). Netherlands: Springer.
DOI
2008 Bramley, G., & Leishman, C. (2008). Modelling Local Housing Market Adjustment in England. In Planning Public Policy Property Markets (pp. 77-104). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI Scopus5
2008 Leishman, C., & Warren, F. (2008). Planning for Consumers' New-Build Housing Choices. In Planning Public Policy Property Markets (pp. 167-184). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI Scopus6
2001 Jones, C., & Leishman, C. (2001). The extent, spatial pattern and causes of homelessness. In C. Jones, & P. Robson (Eds.), Health of Scottish Housing (pp. 5-34). Routledge.

Year Citation
2011 Costello, G., & Leishman, C. (2011). Using option pricing theory to value development land. In 17th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference (pp. 1-42). Australia: PRRES.
2010 Leishman, C. (2010). The behaviour of regional housing markets and construction: implications for modelling sub-regional housing supply. In Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research - CCHPR 20th anniversary conference (pp. 1-19). UK: University of Cambridge.
2006 Salama, M., Al-Sharif, F., Kaka, A. P., & Leishman, C. (2006). Cost modelling for standardised design projects. In Association of Researchers in Construction Management Arcom 2006 Procs 22nd Annual Arcom Conference Vol. 2 (pp. 621-631).
Scopus2
2005 Salama, M., Kaka, A., & Leishman, C. (2005). The relationship between the performance of the economy and the cost of construction of educational buildings in Egypt: A preliminary study. In Association of Researchers in Construction Management Arcom 2005 Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference Vol. 2 (pp. 731-740).
Scopus4

Year Citation
2023 Vij, A., Ardeshiri, A., Leishman, C., Beer, A., Goel, S., Han, H. D., . . . Washington, L. (2023). The future of Australian cities and regions in a post-pandemic world. Australia: DITRDCA and the iMOVE CRC.
2020 Gilbert, C., Rowley, S., Gurran, N., Leishman, C., Mouritz, M., Raynor, K., & Cornell, C. (2020). Urban regulation and diverse housing supply: an investigative panel: Source details - Title: AHURI Final Report. Australia: AHURI.
DOI Scopus7
2020 Leishman, C., Ong, R., Lester, L., & Liang, W. (2020). Supporting Australia’s housing system: Modelling pandemic policy responses: Source details - Title: AHURI Final Report. Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).
DOI Scopus8
2020 Rowley, S., Gilbert, C., Gurran, N., Leishman, C., & Phelps, C. (2020). The uneven distribution of housing supply 2006–2016: Source details - Title: AHURI Final Report. Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).
DOI Scopus10
2020 Baker, E. L., Leishman, C., Bentley, R., Pham, N., & Daniel, L. (2020). Social housing exit points, outcomes and future pathways: an administrative data analysis: Source details - Title: AHURI Final Report. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
DOI Scopus11
2020 Frey, J., Leishman, C. M., McGreal, S., & Young, G. (2020). Housing need and demand assessment: an evaluation and illustrative pilot of the Scottish HNDA tool in the context of Northern Ireland. UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence.
2019 Baker, E. L., Leishman, C., Kellett, J., & Daniel, L. (2019). People and Neighbourhoods - Background paper.
2019 Leishman, C., & Baker, E. (2019). Audit of South Australia's current housing assets and mapping of future demand: Source details - Title: Audit of South Australia’s current housing assets and mapping of future demand. Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited.
2018 Cebulla, A., Leishman, C., & Petrou, K. (2018). Supporting people in social housing gain and maintain employment: an Evidence Check rapid review. Sydney, NSW: Sax Institute.
2018 Leishman, C., Cebulla, A., & Petrou, K. (2018). Supporting people in social housing gain and maintain employment. Australia: Sax Institute.
2017 Rowley, S., Leishman, C., Baker, E., Bentley, R., & Lester, L. (2017). Modelling housing need in Australia to 2025: Source details - Title: AHURI Final Report. Australia: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited.
DOI Scopus17
2017 Leishman, C. (2017). Is Australian housing supply adequate?: Housing Australia (2). Melbourne: Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
2014 Leishman, C., Bramley, G., Stephens, M., Watkins, D., & Young, G. (2014). After the Council Tax: impacts of property tax reform on people, places and house prices. UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
2014 Stephens, M., Leishman, C., Bramley, G., Ferrari, E., & Rae, A. (2014). What will the housing market look like in 2040?. UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
2009 Adams, D., Leishman, C., Cartlidge, L., & Watkins, C. (2009). Understanding builder to builder residential land transactions. UK: Department for Communities and Local Government.
2009 Wong, C., Gibb, K., McGreal, S., Hincks, S., Kingston, R., Leishman, C., . . . Blair, N. (2009). Housing and neighbourhoods monitor. UK: University of Manchester, Centre for Urban Policy Studies.
2008 Leishman, C., Gibb, K., Meen, G., O'Sullivan, T., Chen, Y., Orr, A., & Wright, R. (2008). Scottish model of housing supply and affordability: final report. UK: Scottish Government.
2008 Adams, D., & Leishman, C. (2008). Factors affecting housing build-out rates. UK: University of Glasgow.

  • Barriers and enablers of offsite construction, Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 01/04/2025 - 02/11/2026

  • Accelerating the Development of Housing System Modelling, Department of the Treasury, 27/02/2025 - 31/10/2025

  • Modelling landlord behaviour and its impact on rental affordability: Insights across two decades, Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 01/04/2022 - 30/06/2025

  • The role of Commonwealth Rent Assistance in housing, financial and well-being outcomes (24/PRO/32345), Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 01/04/2024 - 31/05/2025

  • Tenure Futures - Planning for a two tenure Australia (2023H), Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 03/04/2023 - 30/06/2024

  • Planning for a two tenure Australia - DCE, Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 03/04/2023 - 30/06/2024

Courses I teach

  • ECON 2013 Property Economics (2025)
  • ECON 2013 Property Economics (2024)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2023 Principal Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Clayton Paul Pilat

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