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Fire Sales and House Prices: Evidence from Estate Sales Due to Sudden Death

Author

Listed:
  • Steffen Andersen

    (Copenhagen Business School, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Kasper Meisner Nielsen

    (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong)

Abstract

This study investigates when forced sales of real estate turn into fire sales by using a natural experiment that allows us to separate supply and demand effects: Forced sales result from sudden death of house owners and are thus unrelated to current market conditions. We find that forced sales result in fire sale discounts. Discounts increase when the sale is urgent, market conditions are poor, and the seller is financially constrained. Overall, our study identifies when forced sales lead to fire sale discounts, and highlights that fire sales occur even in the absence of temporary demand shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Andersen & Kasper Meisner Nielsen, 2017. "Fire Sales and House Prices: Evidence from Estate Sales Due to Sudden Death," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(1), pages 201-212, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:63:y:2017:i:1:p:201-212
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2015.2292
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Utpal Bhattacharya & Daisy Huang & Kasper Meisner Nielsen, 2021. "Spillovers in Prices: The Curious Case of Haunted Houses [Fire sales and house prices: evidence from estate sales due to sudden death]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 25(3), pages 903-935.
    2. Mats Wilhelmsson, 2019. "Energy Performance Certificates and Its Capitalization in Housing Values in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Utpal Bhattacharya & Daisy Huang & Kasper Meisner Nielsen, 2019. "Spillovers in Asset Prices: The Curious Case of Haunted Houses," HKUST IEMS Working Paper Series 2019-63, HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, revised May 2019.
    4. Andersen, Steffen & Hanspal, Tobin & Nielsen, Kasper Meisner, 2019. "Once bitten, twice shy: The power of personal experiences in risk taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(3), pages 97-117.
    5. Martin Jacob, 2018. "Tax Regimes and Capital Gains Realizations," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Steffen Andersen & Julie Marx & Kasper Meisner Nielsen & Lise Vesterlund, 2021. "Gender Differences in Negotiation: Evidence from Real Estate Transactions," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(638), pages 2304-2332.
    7. David Sturrock & Stefan Groot & Jan Möhlmann, 2022. "Wealth, gifts, and estate planning at the end of life," CPB Discussion Paper 442, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Kanis Saengchote, 2023. "Developers' Leverage, Capital Market Financing, and Fire Sale Externalities Evidence from the Thai Condominium Market," Papers 2312.05013, arXiv.org.
    9. Lawrence Kryzanowski & Yanting Wu, 2023. "Signaling effects of recurrent list‐price reductions on the likelihood of house sales," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 99-130, February.
    10. Kanis Saengchote, 2023. "Developers’ Leverage, Capital Market Financing, and Fire Sale Externalities: Evidence from the Thai Condominium Market," PIER Discussion Papers 212, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.

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