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Transactions and Agents

Paper Session

Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (CST)

Marriott Rivercenter, Conference Room 1
Hosted By: American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
  • Chair: Walter D'Lima, Florida International University

Gender and Workload Choices: Evidence from the Real Estate Brokerage Industry

Guangzhi Shang
,
Florida State University
Yanting Wu
,
Concordia University
Tingyu Zhou
,
Florida State University

Abstract

The real estate brokerage industry is characterized by overlapping tasks and complex job dynamics. We investigate the differences in workload choices and performance outcomes across genders, and the trade-off between wage and cost. Using a large-scale dataset covering residential realtor activities in the Canadian province of Quebec between 2005 and 2017, we find that, women appear to be endowed with fewer work opportunities than men. However, for an additional unclosed task, women are able to obtain more new tasks and complete more unclosed tasks than men, after controlling agent fixed effects and agents’ time-varying experience and ability, house and task attributes, and market conditions. Women also consistently attain a higher productivity gain (in terms of earned commissions) from increasing workloads but incur a higher cost (in terms of the average time spent to sell a listing). A simple back-of-the-envelope calculation implies a 15% gender gap in the trade-off between wage and time cost, suggesting that the workload choices by female agents is more likely due to their preference than their ability.

Search Diversion by Intermediaries: Evidence from Real Estate Markets

Ying Fan
,
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Yuqi Fu
,
Tsinghua University
Zan Yang
,
Tsinghua University

Abstract

Intermediaries in an asymmetric information market have incentives for using strategic instruments to divert buyer search. This paper uses real estate brokerage as an example to provide the first empirical evidence on intermediaries’ search diversion through both online and offline channels. It is found that the brokerage platform deliberately places “star” properties at suboptimal rank and referral positions to divert consumer traffic, and will reallocate properties’ online positions according to the favorable feedback from potential buyers. As a complement to online search diversion, real estate brokerage further allocates heterogeneous agents to divert buyers’ offline visits, consequently benefiting from distorting transaction outcomes. We also evidence the nonmonotonic patterns in the brokerage’s diversion strategy and its relative effectiveness compared with selective disclosure.

Gender, Stress, and Job Performance: Agents in the Resale Housing Market

Natalya Bikmetova
,
Hofstra University
Geoffrey K. Turnbull
,
University of Central Florida
Velma Zahirovic-Herbert
,
University of Memphis

Abstract

Existing empirical evidence reveals gender differences in decision making, negotiation, and other behavior. This paper addresses a largely neglected dimension, differences in male and female job performance during periods of personal life stress. The analysis reveals that gender differences not only exist: they vary by type of stress. We use resale housing market transactions data to examine changes in male and female agent sales performance when filing personal bankruptcy and when charged with legal infractions, two different stress events. Bankruptcy is not an unexpected event while interactions with the legal system indicated in crime reports are more likely unanticipated. We take into account both choice of properties to list and how agents serve the clients they represent. The results indicate that both bankruptcy and legal infractions signal types of agents with particular business practices as well as changes in their behavior during temporary periods of stress. Further, the differences in male and female responses differ across these events.

Presale Discounts and Risk Sharing: Theory and Evidence from the Hong Kong Real Estate Market

Quan Gan
,
University of Sydney
Maggie Rong Hu
,
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Yang Shi
,
University of Melbourne
Ally Quan Zhang
,
Lancaster University

Abstract

Real estate developers face significant risks in managing new developments, and presale contracts are commonly used to shift these risks to buyers. We develop a theoretical model to show that presale prices are an increasing function of time and that earlier presales are associated with greater discounts, reflecting the tradeoff between risk sharing benefits and presale prices. Using comprehensive presale transaction data in Hong Kong, we find an upward-sloping presale price-time relationship. This relationship is stronger for developers with weaker financial conditions and concentrated businesses in Hong Kong, as well as for listed developers. We also find that the mainland China government's cooling intervention increases the presale price-time sensitivity for developers with business in mainland China. Our study contributes to the literature on risk sharing in real estate development by providing new insights into the dynamics of presale prices and their implications for developers and policymakers.

Discussant(s)
Xue Xiao
,
Virginia Tech
Vikas Soni
,
University of South Florida
Heidi Falkenbach
,
Aalto University
Walter D'Lima
,
Florida International University
JEL Classifications
  • R3 - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location