Cities that win Olympic bids experience neither boom nor bust in their real estate prices, but gain construction jobs as they prepare for the Games, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business.

“We do not find support for the argument of host city backers that the Olympics delivers positive economic benefits, nor of the arguments made by opponents that there is some post-Olympic bust,” says Tsur Somerville, lead author and Sauder’s Real Estate Foundation of B.C. Professor in Real Estate Finance.

“Our results conclusively demonstrate that while construction employment dramatically increases in the period prior to the Games, house prices are the same as they would be in the absence of the Games,” says Somerville.

The study’s co-author is PhD student Jake Wetzel, a three-time Olympian and 2008 gold medalist as a member of the eight-man rowing team during the Summer Olympics in Beijing. While findings suggest no economic gains,” Wetzel says, “the Games still present a very real opportunity to celebrate excellence, athleticism and human achievement. The societal impact of valuing the Olympic ideals goes far beyond economics and politics. Hosting the Games ultimately reflects pride in our athletes, city and country.”

The study used real estate variables to test the Games’ economic impact on host cities by analyzing house prices and construction employment in the years leading up to and after the Olympics. Their findings showed that pre-Game construction employment grew by 4.3 per cent in Vancouver.

UBC Public Affairs announced the research results in a Jan. 25, 2010 media release. Additional details on the study can be obtained from Professor Tsur Somerville e-mail: tsur.somerville@sauder.ubc.ca .

This real estate information may be small comfort to those trying to find affordable housing in Metro Vancouver. A new study by the Frontier Centre For Public Policy reports that, “for 2009, Vancouver is the most unaffordable of the 28 housing markets measured in Canada and the most unaffordable of the 272 metropolitan markets ranked in Ireland, the U.K. New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and Canada.”

Olympic host cities have also been attempting to address greener environmental standards.