IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jrefec/v68y2024i3d10.1007_s11146-023-09954-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of iBuyers on Housing Market Dynamics

Author

Listed:
  • David M. Harrison

    (University of Central Florida)

  • Michael J. Seiler

    (College of William & Mary)

  • Liuming Yang

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

Technological innovation continues to disrupt virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. This paper explores one such innovation, namely iBuyers (i.e., firms who use PropTech to provide online quotes and make quick cash offers on homes), and studies their impact on various housing market dynamics. More specifically, we find the presence of iBuyers increases home prices in local markets by up to 2.8%. We further hypothesize that strategic behavior on the part of home sellers, and particularly increased “fishing” for high offers after the entrance of iBuyers into a market, helps explain this phenomenon. This explanation is strongly supported by an observable increase in both time on market (TOM) and listing prices following the entry of iBuyers. Lastly, we find iBuyers compete with and crowd out potential local homebuyers, forcing them into neighboring markets, and thereby causing home prices in these adjacent ZIP codes to increase as well.

Suggested Citation

  • David M. Harrison & Michael J. Seiler & Liuming Yang, 2024. "The Impact of iBuyers on Housing Market Dynamics," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(3), pages 425-461, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:68:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11146-023-09954-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11146-023-09954-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11146-023-09954-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11146-023-09954-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lauren Lambie‐Hanson & Wenli Li & Michael Slonkosky, 2022. "Real estate investors and the U.S. housing recovery," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(6), pages 1425-1461, November.
    2. DeFusco, Anthony & Ding, Wenjie & Ferreira, Fernando & Gyourko, Joseph, 2018. "The role of price spillovers in the American housing boom," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 72-84.
    3. Garcia-López, Miquel-Àngel & Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo & Segú, Mariona, 2020. "Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    4. Chava, Sudheer & Ganduri, Rohan & Paradkar, Nikhil & Zhang, Yafei, 2021. "Impact of marketplace lending on consumers’ future borrowing capacities and borrowing outcomes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1186-1208.
    5. Huang, Rocco R., 2008. "Evaluating the real effect of bank branching deregulation: Comparing contiguous counties across US state borders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 678-705, March.
    6. Patrick Bayer & Christopher Geissler & Kyle Mangum & James W Roberts & Andrew Karolyi, 2020. "Speculators and Middlemen: The Strategy and Performance of Investors in the Housing Market," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(11), pages 5212-5247.
    7. Saiz, Albert, 2007. "Immigration and housing rents in American cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 345-371, March.
    8. Marco Di Maggio & Vincent Yao, 2021. "Fintech Borrowers: Lax Screening or Cream-Skimming?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(10), pages 4565-4618.
    9. Horn, Keren & Merante, Mark, 2017. "Is home sharing driving up rents? Evidence from Airbnb in Boston," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 14-24.
    10. Patrick S. Smith & Crocker H. Liu, 2020. "Institutional Investment, Asset Illiquidity and Post‐Crash Housing Market Dynamics," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 48(3), pages 673-709, September.
    11. Andreas Fuster & Matthew Plosser & Philipp Schnabl & James Vickery, 2019. "The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1854-1899.
    12. Jack Favilukis & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2021. "Out‐of‐Town Home Buyers and City Welfare," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(5), pages 2577-2638, October.
    13. Albert Saiz & Susan Wachter, 2011. "Immigration and the Neighborhood," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 169-188, May.
    14. Wei Chen & Zaiyan Wei & Karen Xie, 2022. "The Battle for Homes: How Does Home Sharing Disrupt Local Residential Markets?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(12), pages 8589-8612, December.
    15. Itay Goldstein & Wei Jiang & G Andrew Karolyi, 2019. "To FinTech and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1647-1661.
    16. Francesco D’Acunto & Nagpurnanand Prabhala & Alberto G Rossi, 2019. "The Promises and Pitfalls of Robo-Advising," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1983-2020.
    17. Elliot Anenberg & Edward Kung, 2014. "Estimates of the Size and Source of Price Declines Due to Nearby Foreclosures," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(8), pages 2527-2551, August.
    18. Andrey Pavlov & Tsur Somerville, 2020. "Immigration, Capital Flows and Housing Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 48(3), pages 915-949, September.
    19. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    20. Caitlin S. Gorback & Benjamin J. Keys, 2020. "Global Capital and Local Assets: House Prices, Quantities, and Elasticities," NBER Working Papers 27370, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Marcus T. Allen & Jessica Rutherford & Ronald Rutherford & Abdullah Yavas, 2018. "Impact of Investors in Distressed Housing Markets," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 622-652, May.
    22. Koster, Hans R.A. & van Ommeren, Jos & Volkhausen, Nicolas, 2021. "Short-term rentals and the housing market: Quasi-experimental evidence from Airbnb in Los Angeles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    23. Tobias Berg & Valentin Burg & Ana Gombović & Manju Puri, 2020. "On the Rise of FinTechs: Credit Scoring Using Digital Footprints," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(7), pages 2845-2897.
    24. Maxence Valentin, 2021. "Regulating short‐term rental housing: Evidence from New Orleans," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(1), pages 152-186, March.
    25. Greg Buchak & Gregor Matvos & Tomasz Piskorski & Amit Seru, 2020. "Why is Intermediating Houses so Difficult? Evidence from iBuyers," NBER Working Papers 28252, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Huan Tang, 2019. "Peer-to-Peer Lenders Versus Banks: Substitutes or Complements?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1900-1938.
    27. Daniel I. García, 2022. "Second‐home buying and the housing boom and bust," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(1), pages 33-58, March.
    28. Hua Sun & Michael J. Seiler, 2013. "Hyperbolic Discounting, Reference Dependence and its Implications for the Housing Market," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 35(1), pages 1-24.
    29. Mohammed Alyakoob & Mohammad S. Rahman, 2022. "Shared Prosperity (or Lack Thereof) in the Sharing Economy," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(2), pages 638-658, June.
    30. Sean Foley & Jonathan R Karlsen & Tālis J Putniņš, 2019. "Sex, Drugs, and Bitcoin: How Much Illegal Activity Is Financed through Cryptocurrencies?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1798-1853.
    31. Alex Chinco & Christopher Mayer, 2016. "Misinformed Speculators and Mispricing in the Housing Market," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 486-522.
    32. Mark A Chen & Qinxi Wu & Baozhong Yang, 2019. "How Valuable Is FinTech Innovation?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 2062-2106.
    33. Walter D’Lima & Paul Schultz, 2021. "Residential Real Estate Investments and Investor Characteristics," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 354-393, October.
    34. Stephen Sheppard & Andrew Udell, 2016. "Do Airbnb Properties Affect House Prices?," Department of Economics Working Papers 2016-03, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    35. Manuel Adelino & Antoinette Schoar & Felipe Severino, 2016. "Editor's Choice Loan Originations and Defaults in the Mortgage Crisis: The Role of the Middle Class," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(7), pages 1635-1670.
    36. Kyle Barron & Edward Kung & Davide Proserpio, 2021. "The Effect of Home-Sharing on House Prices and Rents: Evidence from Airbnb," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(1), pages 23-47, January.
    37. Hui Li & Yijin Kim & Kannan Srinivasan, 2022. "Market Shifts in the Sharing Economy: The Impact of Airbnb on Housing Rentals," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8015-8044, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hao, Jing & Peng, Mengzu & He, Wenjia, 2023. "Digital finance development and bank liquidity creation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Tan, Changchun & Mo, Lingyu & Wu, Xiaomeng & Zhou, Peng, 2024. "Fintech development and corporate credit risk: Evidence from an emerging market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Jing Jian Xiao & Chunsheng Tao, 2020. "Consumer finance/household finance: the definition and scope," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, June.
    4. Kakhkharov, Jakhongir & Bianchi, Robert J., 2022. "COVID-19 and policy responses: Early evidence in banks and FinTech stocks," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Wang, Yichen & Hu, Jun & Chen, Jia, 2023. "Does Fintech facilitate cross-border M&As? Evidence from Chinese A-share listed firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Daniel I. García, 2022. "Second‐home buying and the housing boom and bust," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(1), pages 33-58, March.
    7. Lan Di & George X. Yuan & Tu Zeng, 2021. "The consensus equilibria of mining gap games related to the stability of Blockchain Ecosystems," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4-5), pages 419-440, March.
    8. Itay Goldstein & Wei Jiang & G Andrew Karolyi, 2019. "To FinTech and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1647-1661.
    9. Wang, Xiaoting & Hou, Siyuan & Kyaw, Khine & Xue, Xupeng & Liu, Xueqin, 2023. "Exploring the determinants of Fintech Credit: A comprehensive analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    10. Hasan, Iftekhar & Kwak, Boreum & Li, Xiang, 2024. "Financial technologies and the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Thakor, Anjan V., 2020. "Fintech and banking: What do we know?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    12. Angelo D'Andrea & Nicola Limodio, 2019. "High-Speed Internet, Financial Technology and Banking in Africa," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 19124, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    13. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Michael B. Imerman & Harshit Rajaiya & Qianqian Yu, 2020. "Recent Developments In The Fintech Industry," Journal of Financial Management, Markets and Institutions (JFMMI), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(01), pages 1-31, June.
    14. Geng, Hongyan & Guo, Pin & Cheng, Maoyong, 2023. "The dark side of bank FinTech: Evidence from a transition economy," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1811-1830.
    15. Michael J. Seiler & Liuming Yang, 2023. "The burgeoning role of iBuyers in the housing market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(3), pages 721-753, May.
    16. Maruška Vizek & Tajana Barbić & Anita Čeh Časni, 2024. "The impact of the tourism accommodation composition on housing prices: The case of Croatia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(1), pages 267-274, February.
    17. Garz, Marcel & Schneider, Andrea, 2023. "Data sharing and tax enforcement: Evidence from short-term rentals in Denmark," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    18. Dulani Jayasuriya Daluwathumullagamage & Alexandra Sims, 2021. "Fantastic Beasts: Blockchain Based Banking," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-43, April.
    19. Zheng, Hao & Mao, Mike Qinghao, 2024. "Fintech mergers and acquisitions," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    20. Cheng, Maoyong & Qu, Yang, 2020. "Does bank FinTech reduce credit risk? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    PropTech; iBuyers; Housing market; Fishing; Spillover effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L8 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:68:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11146-023-09954-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.