House Price Momentum and Strategic Complementarity

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2018
Volume: 126
Issue: 3
Pages: 1172 - 1218

Score contribution per author:

8.043 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

House prices exhibit substantially more momentum, positive autocorrelation in price changes, than existing theories can explain. I introduce an amplification mechanism to reconcile this discrepancy. Sellers do not set a unilaterally high or low list price because they face a concave demand curve: increasing the price of an above-average-priced house rapidly reduces its sale probability, but cutting the price of a below-average-priced house only slightly improves its sale probability. The resulting strategic complementarity amplifies frictions because sellers gradually adjust their price to stay near average. I provide empirical evidence for concave demand using a quantitative search model that amplifies momentum two- to threefold.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/697207
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25