The Federal Reserve Board eagle logo links to Board's home page

International Finance Discussion Papers
The International Finance Discussion Papers logo links to the International Finance Discussion Papers home page Efficiency in Housing Markets: Do Home Buyers Know how to Discount?
Erik Hjalmarsson and Randi Hjalmarsson
2006-879  (September 2006)

Abstract:  We test for efficiency in the market for Swedish co-ops by examining the negative relationship between the sales price and the present value of future rents. If the co-op housing market is efficient, the present value of co-op rental payments due to underlying debt obligations of the cooperative should be fully reflected in the sales price. However, we find that, on average, a one hundred kronor increase in the present value of future rents only leads to a 45 to 65 kronor reduction in the sales price; co-ops with higher rents are thus relatively overpriced compared to those with lower rents. Our analysis indicates that pricing tends to be more efficient in areas with higher educated and wealthier buyers. By relying on cross-sectional relationships in the data, our results are less sensitive to transaction costs and other frictions than time-series tests of housing market efficiency.

Full paper (139 KB PDF) | Full paper (screen reader version)

Keywords
Housing markets, Market efficiency, Cooperative housing

PDF files: Adobe Acrobat Reader   ZIP files: PKWARE


Home | IFDPs | List of 2006 IFDPs
Accessibility | Contact Us
Last update: January 12, 2007