Optimal Price and Selling Effort from the Perspectives of the Broker and Seller

This paper uses numerical solutions of a dynamic optimization model to examine the principal-agent relationship between the seller and broker in residential real estate markets. Potential conflict of interest is quantified in two dimensions, the level of selling effort the broker puts forth, and the reservation price for the property. The dynamic optimization model reveals that the use of a finite duration listing contract will induce the broker to increase his or her effort level compared to an unlimited duration contract, and that the broker's optimal effort will increase over time, becoming greater as the listing contract expiration time draws nearer ("rational procrastination"). The numerical analysis indicates that with plausible parameter values, conflict of interest problems regarding broker effort level are minor or nonexistent near the end of the listing contract, but potentially important near the beginning of the contract. In contrast, the conflict of interest regarding reservation price is more severe near the end of the listing contract and is exacerbated by the use of finite duration contracts, the more so the shorter the contract.     

Time on the Market and Selling Price

This study is primarily an analysis of tradeoff between selling time and price, both on a nominal and real basis. Sellers are seen as desiring to maximize their discounted real selling price and trading off the nominal selling price with expected selling time. The time a property remains on the market is important, not only because of its reflection on price, but also because of its possible reflection on the issue of submarket equilibrium—an assumption in most urban price studies. The empirical results of this study shed light on how similar studies can easily misinterpret the implications of time on the market on price and how further work may be improved.     

Listing Price, Time on Market, and Ultimate Selling Price: Causes and Effects of Listing Price Changes

Information about price changes during a home's marketing period is typically missing from data used to investigate the listing price, selling price, and selling time relationship. This paper incorporates price revision information into the study of this relationship. Using a maximum-likelihood probit model, we examine the determinants of list price changes and find evidence consistent with the theory of pricing behavior under demand uncertainty. Homes most likely to undergo list price changes are those with high initial markups and vacant homes, while homes with unusual features are the least likely to experience a price revision. We also explore the impact of missing price change information on estimating a representative model of house price and market time. Our results suggest that mispricing the home in the initial listing is costly to the seller in both time and money. Homes with large percentage changes in list price take longer to sell and ultimately sell at lower prices.     

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.     

Optimal Selling Mechanism,Auction Discounts and Time on Market

This article examines the optimal selling mechanism problem in real estate market using mean‐variance analysis and downside risk analysis. When sellers can choose between accepting the first offer above a reservation price or auctions (waiting an optimal and fixed time), sellers having higher risk aversion choose auctions and wait a fixed time while sellers having lower risk aversion choose an optimal reservation price and wait a random time. Positive auction discounts are compensated by reduced risks, and there exists a connection between liquidity risk and conditional auction discount. More (Fewer) sellers will choose to sell their houses through auctions in a hot (cold) market or when holding cost increases (decreases). When sellers choose auctions, sellers having higher risk aversion who have lower holding cost wait longer and obtain higher sale price. Loss‐averse sellers unanimously choose the mechanism of setting an optimal reservation price.     

Chicago's Office Market: Price Indices, Location and Time

Conventional wisdom holds that overbuilding and high vacancy, coupled with curtailed tax benefits, have led to reduced office property values since the late 1980s. Yet assertions that office real estate values fell between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s are not supported everywhere by convincing evidence. This study offers a hedonic analysis of Chicago area office properties that sold from 1986 through 1993. Whereas earlier office market studies generally have been based on rents, this study focuses on variation in actual sale prices (although the prices were not adjusted for financing differences). The transaction-based index estimated here does not support the existence of a nominal office property price level decline beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s. In fact, the results show an upward trend in office property values after 1986, with nominal declines in office market price levels occurring only in the latter portion of the study period.     

The Influence of Reference Group House Size on House Price

This article examines the effect of a change in housing consumption of various reference groups on predicted own house price. I employ a spatial autoregressive model and find that an increase in average house size of the eight nearest neighbors and the largest houses in the district has a negative effect on predicted house price, whereas the effect of an increase in average house size of the further neighbors (9th through 16th neighbors) and the smallest houses in the district on predicted house price is positive. This suggests that the “envy effect” dominates with respect to the nearest and largest neighbors, whereas the “basking in the reflected glory” effect dominates with respect to the further smallest neighbors.     

Renegotiation of Listing Contracts, Seller Opportunism and Efficiency: An Economic Analysis

When a property owner engages a real estate broker to sell his or her property, the parties enter into a listing contract which entitles the broker to a commission if a ready, willing and able buyer is found before the contract expires. While a limit on the duration of the contract provides the broker with an incentive to work hard to find a buyer, it also creates the potential for seller opportunism. In particular, sellers have an incentive to renegotiate a lower commission as the end of the contract approaches. The paper concludes that, from an efficiency perspective, courts should generally enforce such renegotiations, given that transaction costs between brokers and sellers are ordinarily low.     

Pricing Schemes and Seller Fraud: Evidence from New York City Taxi Rides

Different pricing schemes gives sellers different financial incentives to defraud consumers. Using rich microdata on New York City taxi rides, we examine the differences in traveled distance, duration and fare between trips taken by non‐local passengers and those by comparable local passengers. We find that, for trips subject to a two‐part tariff, the discrepancies are larger when the variable rate is higher, or when the expected post‐dropoff occupancy is lower; furthermore, the impact of the post‐dropoff occupancy is more pronounced when the variable rate is higher. In contrast, trips subject to a flat fare scheme do not exhibit these patterns.     

The Influence of Household Formation on Homeownership Rates Across Time and Race

Homeownership rates equal the number of households that own homes divided by the number of households in the population. Differences in the propensity to form a household, therefore, may contribute to changes in homeownership rates over time in addition to long-standing racial gaps in homeownership. We examine these issues on an age-specific basis using data from the 1970 to 2000 public use microsamples of the decennial census. Results indicate that lower headship rates tend to reduce homeownership rates. This pattern is most notable for individuals in their early and mid 20s. For these individuals, declining headship rates between 1970 and 2000 reduced homeownership rates by three to five percentage points. Moreover, 2000 African American headship rates narrow white–black gaps in homeownership by roughly three percentage points, whereas 2000 Hispanic headship rates widen white–Hispanic gaps in homeownership by two to three percentage points. Thus, controlling for differences in headship behavior, white–black homeownership gaps are somewhat more severe than previously recognized, but the reverse is true for white–Hispanic gaps.     

资本市场压力与企业策略性专利行为:卖空机制的视角

创新是一种不确定性高且周期长的投资活动,需要风险偏好更大、对失败容忍更高的市场环境,而资本市场具有筛选和发现创新型企业、有效分散创新风险的功能,因而对创新活动起着关键作用。然而,中国资本市场短期投资者比例高,融券交易成本高且交易不活跃,加上专利评价体系对不同质量的专利区分度较低,导致资本市场压力对创新活动没有发挥出信息机制和治理机制两种效应。相反,资本市场压力带来的负面信息表达渠道和管理层短期业绩压力,造成了中国专利申请中存在“重数量、轻质量”“重申请、轻维护”的企业策略性专利行为所衍生的“专利泡沫”问题。本文采用中国融资融券制度作为准自然实验,考察卖空机制对企业创新的影响效应和作用机理。研究发现,企业面临卖空压力时会更加积极地申请专利,但专利的申请质量有所下降,表现为专利授权率降低;专利结构有所恶化,最终授权数增加的主要是容易研发、授权快的实用新型专利和外观设计专利;专利得到授权后,企业放弃缴纳维持费用以终止专利权。这些策略性专利行为在短期内可以减少企业的卖空交易量,推高企业市值,但长期看对企业的业绩没有积极影响,是一种“创新假象”。卖空机制主要通过施压机制来影响企业创新,管理层业绩压力、外部监督压力、股价信息传递压力越大的企业,在面临卖空威慑时更有动力进行策略性专利行为。为促进企业创新向高质量发展,需要进一步完善融资融券制度和专利评价体系。     

“同价”对农电发展的影响

自2000年以来,河南省在"两改"工作取得阶段性成果的基础上,部分市(地)实现了城乡用电"同网同价",做到了"三公开"、"四到户"、"五统一",有效地遏制了"人情电、关系电、权力电"和"乱收费、乱摊派、乱加价"导致的"电价高"现象,降低了农村电价,减少了农民不合理负担,收到了良好的社会效益。由于种种因素,“同价”也带来一些问题,如不解决,就会影响到农电可持续发展目标的实现。因此,河南省电力行业协会"同网同价"课题组对焦作市实施城乡用电"同网同价"两年来的情况进行了调查。     

Warranty,Seller Reputation,and Buyer Experience: Evidence From EBAY Used Car Auctions

Using data from the eBay car auction market, we test several predictions regarding warranties, seller reputation and buyer experience in the determination of the final price. We find that the presence of a warranty generates a price premium, but that its magnitude decreases when the seller has a more established reputation. Compared to private sellers, professional dealers, who are ‘repeated‐game players’ in the market, benefit less from a warranty and its substitutability for seller reputation is relatively small. In addition, a buyer with greater experience tends to pay less for a warranty or for a professional dealership.     

The Land Development Corporation: A System for Selling Rural Real Estate

This research illustrates ways in which rural real estate is converted into potential vacation home sites by large land development corporations. The individual and previously disorganized approach to selling property is replaced by an organized framework that is designed to create a demand for rural real estate.
Unfortunately, development is progressing without serious or adequate consideration being given to a number of specific problems. Developers and local governmental officials often fail to consider the environmental impact of these developments, the adequacy of service facilities being provided or the direct and indirect public costs associated with this type of developmental activity. Because of these shortcomings and others, serious questions arise concerning the desirability of this kind of developmental activity for rural areas.     

从国际市场看油价对钻井成本的影响

近年来国际油价暴涨，油气企业效益普遍明显提高，对于目前国内已经改革重组的钻井行业来讲，也面临着诸多机遇和挑战。本文从国际钻井工程服务市场的现状出发，初步研究了钻井成本随油价变化的规律，并以斯伦贝谢（Schlumberger）、哈里伯顿（Halliburton）等服务公司效益随油价的变化情况为例，探讨了油价对国际钻井市场的影响，期望为钻井行业决策提供一定参考。     

Stock Price and Management Changes: The Case of REITs

This paper examines the relationship between a Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT's) stock returns and top management changes. The results indicate an inverse relationship between the probability of a management change and a REIT's recent stock price performance. This is consistent with internal monitoring of management activities by the board of directors, other top managers, or large block shareholders.     

Selling cross-border in online markets: The impact of the ban on geoblocking strategies

We develop a model of strategic geoblocking, where two competing multi-channel retailers, located in different countries, can decide to block access to their online store from foreign consumers. We characterize the equilibrium when firms decide unilaterally whether to introduce geoblocking restrictions. We show that geoblocking allows firms to soften competition, but at the cost of lower demand. A ban on geoblocking leads to lower prices, both offline and online. However, when firms can invest in increasing online demand, the ban may have adverse effects on investment and social welfare. We extend our analysis to account for price discrimination and investigate the role of shipping costs.     

An Empirical Examination of the Stability of Housing Price Equations Over Time

This study investigates the extent to which the coefficients of housing price equations are stable over time. Using annual data from 1959 to 1979 for a large neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, a series of twenty-four housing price equations is estimated. The estimated coefficients exhibit substantial instability over the period. Further, prediction errors are generally minimized for a given year when the coefficients estimated for that year are used to predict. The results strongly suggest that such equations should be recalibrated each year.     

中国再生资源价格长期波动特征及其对经济的影响研究

尽管再生资源在工业生产中替代原生资源的比例逐渐升高,但对再生资源价格波动的特征及对经济的影响尚缺乏研究。本文以再生铜为例,采用GRACH族模型分析发现,我国再生铜价格的波动存在一定集聚性和持续性,价格波动比较缓慢。且负向冲击对再生铜价格波动的影响比正向冲击大,存在显著的杠杆效应。此外,再生铜价波动具有显著的GARCH-M效应,即预期的风险对再生铜价格波动具有正向影响。然后采用VAR模型和脉冲响应函数等方法,引入产出、投资、消费和通货膨胀率变动等宏观经济变量,定量分析了再生资源价格波动与中国经济之间的关系。检验结果表明：再生铜价作为建筑业重要的生产资料,其价格上涨短期内 促使GDP增长,但长期则抑制投资,最终可能影响GDP增长并提高通货膨胀率,即再生铜价格上涨对国家经济发展有不利影响。本文的实证结果揭示出,对中国经济的影响而言,废旧金属价格的变动只是某种表象,经济增长和通货膨胀率变动的背后是更为复杂的原因,问题的实质是以固定投资拉动经济增长的发展模式和部分地区对房地产业过度依赖的产业结构的变化等对中国经济产生的根本性的影响。     

Price and margin rigidity in deflation: The great depression

The major hypothesis tested in this paper states that rigid price-cost margins in concentrated industries are an important cause of price rigidity. According to this view, while prices in all industries change with unit variable costs, prices in concentrated industries, where unit margins are rigid, change less than those in unconcentrated industries, where unit margins are more flexible. Three earlier and conflicting studies of price behavior in The Great Depression (1929–33) are reexamined. When these studies are subject to the same or similar tests, it is found that price rigidity is identified with concentration in the period considered.