What Problem Do Intermediaries Solve? Evidence From Real Estate Markets

Darren Aiello, Mark Garmaise and Taylor Nadauld

The Review of Financial Studies, 2026, vol. 39, issue 2, 562-604

Abstract: We study intermediation in the housing market. Using data from an online platform utilized by real estate agents to generate leads, we identify exogenous intermediary attention arising from the quasi-randomized ordering of potential listings. Greater intermediary attention leads to an increased probability of listing with an agent and selling quickly, and a higher transaction price. The listing and transaction probabilities of neighboring properties decrease in intermediary attention. These results contrast sharply with endogenous correlations and provide causal evidence that intermediaries resolve property-level frictions deriving from search, information, or behavioral considerations but do not mitigate neighborhood-level information asymmetries.

Keywords: G24; D83; R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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