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

Steffen Andersen and Kasper Meisner Nielsen ()
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Kasper Meisner Nielsen: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Management Science, 2017, vol. 63, issue 1, 201-212

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.

Keywords: fire sales; discount; real estate; financial constraints; sudden death (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:63:y:2017:i:1:p:201-212

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