An Investigation of Buyer Search in the Residential Real Estate Market under Different Market Conditions

The purpose of this research is to examine buyer search under different market conditions. We conduct a survival regression analysis of survey data generated by the National Association of Realtors for 1988, 1991 and 1993. We find, in all instances, that economic conditions are the dominant factor influencing search duration. Some evidence does indicate, however, that search is influenced by interest rates. Additionally, the evidence suggests that the probability of finding a home increases for broker-assisted search, while this is not the case for self-conducted search.

Buyer Search Duration in the Residential Real Estate Market: The Role of the Real Estate Agent

This study examines buyer search duration using a national database consisting of transactions conducted with and without the assistance of real estate brokers. The results of this study indicates that information asymmetries are present in the residential real estate market. First-time buyers and out-of-town buyers search longer than more experienced and local, more knowledgeable homebuyers. On the other hand, buyers relocated by their employers spend less time looking for a home. More importantly, real estate brokers are able to reduce buyer search time for all classes of buyers, whether first-time, experienced, or an out-of-time buyer.

Merit Aid, Student Mobility, and the Role of College Selectivity

In this paper, we investigate the role of college selectivity in mobility decisions (both in-state and out-of-state) of freshmen students following Georgia's HOPE scholarship program. How did HOPE affect the selectivity of colleges attended by Georgia's freshmen students? Did it induce Georgia's freshmen students who would have otherwise attended more selective out-of-state colleges to instead attend less selective in-state ones? Or was there movement to more selective ones, both in-state and out-of-state? Using student residency and enrollment data from IPEDS and selectivity data from Barron's and Peterson's, we find that in the aftermath of HOPE, Georgia freshmen attended relatively more selective colleges overall. Disaggregating further, we find that Georgia freshmen attending in-state colleges attended more selective ones. Georgia freshmen attending out-of-state colleges were also more likely to attend more selective colleges, most likely due to an increase in the reservation price to go to out-of-state colleges following HOPE. Our results are robust to a variety of sensitivity checks and have important policy implications. In particular, Peltzman had observed in his classic 1973 paper that in-kind subsidies can induce individuals to invest in less quality-adjusted human capital than they might otherwise. The fact that Georgia freshmen attended relatively more selective colleges in the post-HOPE period allays, to some extent, the concern that state merit aid programs can adversely affect long-term outcomes and human capital formation

Non-Resident Tuition and Enrollment in Higher Education: Implications for Tuition Pricing

This paper provides evidence on the factors that influence the non-resident enrollment percentage for public and private institutes of higher education (IHEs). We find a significant positive correlation between the enrollment percentage and tuition for private IHEs and no significance for public IHEs. Further investigation reveals that the highest-priced public and private IHEs generally attract the highest percentage of non-resident students. This suggests that the more costly IHEs, especially private, may enjoy a special cache that allows them more latitude in setting non-resident tuition. The non-resident enrollment percentage is not appreciably different across a wide range of tuition levels for both IHE types, indicating that these IHEs might be able to maintain their non-resident enrollment percentage levels with marginal tuition increases

Nonresident Enrollment at Religious and Secular Colleges

Institutional characteristics and regional economic data are used to determine if religious private colleges have a higher percentage of nonresident students than do secular colleges. A test of means and a two-stage least squares regression are used on a data set of 827 private higher education institutions to present evidence on the differences between religious and secular private colleges. The study finds that the percentage of nonresident students is higher at secular than at religious private colleges. Evidence suggests that religious colleges may serve a special niche in their local market. It does not appear that nonresident students are willing to attend a religious college solely for religious reasons as their lower tuition levels do not result in higher out-of-state enrollments

Buying a House and the Decision to Use a Real Estate Broker

This study examines the factors that affect the decision by home buyers to use real estate brokers and the subsequent effect this decision has on home prices. Buyers with high opportunity costs and the least amount of information about local market conditions are the most likely to use brokers; a finding consistent with the role of the real estate broker as a market intermediary. Not surprisingly, these were some of the same factors that also have a positive impact on selling price. An important finding of this study is that when selection bias is adequately controlled, the real estate broker has no appreciable, independent impact on selling price. This, in turn, suggests a nonsegmented, highly competitive housing market

Buyer Search Intensity and the Role of the Residential Real Estate Broker

This study examines the impact of the real estate broker on the effectiveness of buyer search by focusing on the linkages between search intensity and the duration of search. How long a buyer searches depends on how sensitive the buyer is to within-period search costs and across-period, sequential search costs. High-income individuals and other homebuyers with high within-period search costs tend to search longer and less intensively. Buyers with high across-period search costs, such as out-of-town buyers, tend to search more intensively. Brokers, by reducing the opportunity costs of within-period search, increase buyer search intensity, which in turn reduces actual search time

Buyer Brokers: Do They Make a Difference? Their Influence on Selling Price and Search Duration

This study focuses on the role of buyer brokers in the home-buying process by examining the effects of brokerage representation on home selling prices and search duration. The results of this study indicate that real estate brokers, no matter the type, have no independent effect on home prices. The principal effect of broker intermediation is a reduction in buyer search time, compared to for-sale-by-owner transactions. The most important finding, however, is that buyer agents are more effective at reducing search time for their clients than more traditional seller agents or non-agent facilitators

Learning, Price Formation and the Early Season Bias in the NBA

We test the NBA betting market for efficiency and find that totals lines are significantly biased early each season, yet sides lines do not show a similar bias. While market participants generally force line movements in the correct direction from open to close, they do not fully remove the identified bias in totals lines. This inefficiency enables a profitable technical trading strategy, as the resulting win rate of our proposed simple betting strategy against the closing totals line is 56.72%.</p