House prices, sales, and time on the market: a search-theoretic framework Articles uri icon

publication date

  • August 2013

start page

  • 837

end page

  • 872

issue

  • 3

volume

  • 54

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0020-6598

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1468-2354

abstract

  • We assess the ability of a standard search and matching framework to account for the cyclical properties of key macroeconomic time series of the housing market. We calibrate a model with aggregate demand and supply shocks to match selected business cycle properties of vacancies and sales in the United States. Our model reproduces the cyclical time series properties of house prices and the positive and negative comovement of prices with sales and time on the market, respectively. Search and matching frictions produce trading delays that augment the volatility of prices and propagate the effect of aggregate shocks to future periods.

keywords

  • residential real-estate; unemployment; equilibrium; models