Seminar examines how anti-money laundering rules relate to house prices across OECD countries
Associate Professor Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni of Western Sydney University presented new panel evidence suggesting that house prices are lower in countries with stronger anti-money laundering regulation.
The Department of Property hosted an online research seminar on Monday 17 August 2026, featuring Associate Professor Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni from the School of Business at Western Sydney University. Held on Zoom from 1.00pm to 2.00pm NZDT, the seminar was titled "Anti-money Laundering Regulations and House Prices in OECD Countries".
The seminar addressed a question that has become increasingly pressing in developed economies in recent years: how does money laundering affect real estate prices, and what difference does regulation make? Associate Professor Gholipour Fereidouni presented research examining the relationship between anti-money laundering regulations and house prices across a sample of OECD countries over the period 2012 to 2023.
Using panel fixed effects, 2SLS and GMM regressions, and controlling for key macroeconomic determinants of house prices, the study finds that house prices are lower where anti-money laundering regulations are stronger. The findings speak directly to ongoing policy debates about the role of real estate in illicit financial flows, and about the effects that regulatory settings can have on housing markets.
Associate Professor Gholipour Fereidouni is an Associate Professor of Property at Western Sydney University, having previously held Lecturer and Senior Lecturer positions in Economics at Swinburne University of Technology. His research spans real estate economics, tourism economics, urban studies and Middle East economics.
Since completing his PhD in 2013, he has published eight articles in A* journals and 50 articles in A-ranked journals under the ABDC ranking, including in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Urban Studies, Regional Studies, Housing Studies, Land Use Policy and the European Journal of Political Economy. He has been listed among Stanford and Elsevier’s world top two percent of scientists for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and served as a member of the 2025 ABDC Journal Quality List Review Panel.
The seminar formed part of the Department of Property’s ongoing seminar series, which brings researchers from New Zealand and overseas together with staff and students to share current work in property, housing and urban research.