Forecasting Residential Real Estate Price Changes from Online Search Activity

30 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2014

See all articles by Eli Beracha

Eli Beracha

Florida International University

M. Babajide Wintoki

University of Kansas - School of Business

Date Written: January 13, 2014

Abstract

The intention of buying a home is revealed by many potential home buyers when they turn to the Internet to search for their future residence. This paper examines the extent to which future cross-sectional differences in home price changes are predicted by online search intensity in prior periods. Our findings are economically meaningful and suggest that abnormal search intensity for real estate in a particular city can help predict the city’s future abnormal housing price change. On average, cities associated with abnormally high real estate search intensity consistently outperform cities with abnormally low real estate search volume by as much as 8.5% over a two-year period.

Keywords: Internet, home buyer, home price, price change

Suggested Citation

Beracha, Eli and Wintoki, Modupe Babajide, Forecasting Residential Real Estate Price Changes from Online Search Activity (January 13, 2014). Journal of Real Estate Research, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2378382

Eli Beracha (Contact Author)

Florida International University ( email )

University Park
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33199
United States

Modupe Babajide Wintoki

University of Kansas - School of Business ( email )

1300 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66045
United States

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