Residential Marketing Duration: Film Studios as Neighborhood Sales Accelerators

One measure of residential market liquidity is the speed at which houses sell. Most research about listing duration focuses on agent marketing activities, while external neighborhood changes that could influence a house sale are usually only examined in terms of their price impacts. This paper considers how opening a cultural industry facility influences the likelihood of sale and marketing duration for houses in surrounding neighborhoods. We employ a probit model to quantify the effect of opening large film studios in the Atlanta metropolitan area on the probability of sale and a hazard model to explore the influence on marketing duration in nearby neighborhoods. A difference-in-differences approach allows us to compare market results before and after the studio openings. We find that the likelihood of sale increases while marketing duration decreases for houses located within 1.5 mi of a large film studio once it opens. Thus, the film studios exert positive externalities on the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The positive response may be attributable to film industry workers attracted by convenience and industry buzz as well as other house buyers who are excited about being associated with the film industry or believe the presence of the studio generally improves the neighborhood.