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The Effects of Charm Listing Prices on House Transaction Prices

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  • Marcus T. Allen
  • William H. Dare

Abstract

As is the case for many different goods and services, it is common practice in many real estate markets for sellers to offer properties for sale at listing prices just below some round number price (e.g., $99,900 instead of $100,000). The academic marketing literature refers to this practice as “charm” pricing and suggests that this strategy is an attempt by sellers to take advantage of buyers' cognitive processes in which charm prices affect buyers' perceptions about the seller or the item being offered for sale. Although numerous papers in the housing economics literature have addressed the impact of the magnitude of listing price on observed house transaction prices, no prior published study has considered the impact of the design of listing prices in housing markets. This paper presents an empirical investigation of the effects of charm pricing on house transaction prices using sample data. The results provide some evidence that houses listed at certain charm prices sell for significantly greater transaction prices than those listed at round number prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcus T. Allen & William H. Dare, 2004. "The Effects of Charm Listing Prices on House Transaction Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 32(4), pages 695-713, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reesec:v:32:y:2004:i:4:p:695-713
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1080-8620.2004.00108.x
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    1. Davidson, Russell & MacKinnon, James G., 1993. "Estimation and Inference in Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195060119.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xin He & Zhenguo Lin & Yingchun Liu & Michael J. Seiler, 2020. "Search Benefit in Housing Markets: An Inverted U‐Shaped Price and TOM Relation," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 48(3), pages 772-807, September.
    2. Robert M. Schindler & Mathew S. Isaac & Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang, 2023. "Strategic use of just-below numbers in packaged-foods calorie information," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 237-250, June.
    3. Eric J. Levin & Gwilym B. J. Pryce, 2007. "A Statistical Explanation for Extreme Bids in the House Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(12), pages 2339-2355, November.
    4. Hong Lee & Joseph R. Mason, 2025. "Appraisal quality and loan characteristics: evidence from Newcomb–Benford Law," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 69(6), pages 3721-3758, December.
    5. Annalisa Fraccaro & Sandrine Macé & Béatrice Parguel, 2021. "The not-so-odd couple: Odd pricing in a luxury context," Post-Print halshs-03503449, HAL.
    6. Bruce L. Gordon & Daniel T. Winkler, 2017. "The Effect of Listing Price Changes on the Selling Price of Single-Family Residential Homes," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 185-215, August.
    7. Scott S. Wiltermuth & Timothy Gubler & Lamar Pierce, 2023. "Anchoring on Historical Round Number Reference Points: Evidence from Durable Goods Resale Prices," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 1839-1863, September.
    8. Hanming Fang & Long Wang & Yang Yang, 2022. "Housing Wealth and Online Consumer Behavior: Evidence from Xiong'an New Area in China," NBER Working Papers 30465, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. David Harrison & Michael Seiler, 2015. "The Paradox of Judicial Foreclosure: Collateral Value Uncertainty and Mortgage Rates," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 377-411, April.
    10. Luca Repetto & Alex Solís, 2020. "The Price of Inattention: Evidence from the Swedish Housing Market," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(6), pages 3261-3304.
    11. Eli Beracha & Michael J. Seiler, 2015. "The Effect of Pricing Strategy on Home Selection and Transaction Prices: An Investigation of the Left-Most Digit Effect," Journal of Housing Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 147-161, January.
    12. Fraccaro, Annalisa & Macé, Sandrine & Parguel, Béatrice, 2021. "The not-so-odd couple: Odd pricing in a luxury context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 356-365.
    13. Cardella, Eric & Seiler, Michael J., 2016. "The effect of listing price strategy on real estate negotiations: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-90.
    14. Meng, Charlotte C., 2023. "The price paid: Heuristic thinking and biased reference points in the housing market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    15. Marcus T. Allen & Justin D. Benefield & Ronald C. Rutherford, 2023. "Co-Listing Strategies: Better Transaction Outcomes?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 517-544, October.
    16. Eli Beracha & Michael Seiler, 2014. "The Effect of Listing Price Strategy on Transaction Selling Prices," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 237-255, August.
    17. Pope, Devin G. & Pope, Jaren C. & Sydnor, Justin R., 2015. "Focal points and bargaining in housing markets," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 89-107.
    18. Kwong Wing Chau & Danika Wright & Ervi Liusman, 2018. "The cost of a lucky price," ERES eres2018_240, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    19. Luca Repetto & Alex Solís, 0. "The Price of Inattention: Evidence from the Swedish Housing Market," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(6), pages 3261-3304.
    20. Shimizu, Chihiro & Nishimura, Kiyohiko G. & Watanabe, Tsutomu, 2016. "House prices at different stages of the buying/selling process," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 37-53.
    21. Jason Beck & Lindsay Levine & Michael Toma, 2024. "Just‐below pricing in real estate: Impact by price segment and market conditions," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(1), pages 17-34, January.
    22. Diewert, W. Erwin & Nishimura , Kiyohiko & Shimizu, Chihiro & Watanabe, Tsutomu, 2014. "Residential Property Price Indexes for Japan: An Outline of the Japanese Official RPPI," Economics working papers erwin_diewert-2014-17, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 27 Mar 2014.

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