Unpacking the relation between media sentiment and house prices: A topic modeling approach

• General media sentiment relates to house price changes in Canada but not Australia. • Australia and Canada have similar and different topics discussed in housing media. • Sentiments of topics related to economy positively relate to house prices in Canada. • Media sentiment on rental market is positively related to house prices in Australia. • Higher market transparency may lessen relation between sentiment and house prices. This study uses a topic modeling approach to investigate the relation between news media sentiment and house price movements. By examining real estate related articles published in local newspapers of 16 major cities in Canada and Australia, we find that housing media sentiment has significant relation with future house price movements in the Canadian market but not in the Australian market. We identify the specific topics discussed in news media related to the housing market and report differences in their themes and media sentiment's predictive power between Canada and Australia. This analysis presents novel inferences of qualitative and hard-to-quantify information related to the housing market in two different countries.