New Research by Dongshin Kim Finds Online House Searches Boost Sale Prices and Speed Time on Market

Dr. Dongshin Kim, faculty member at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, has coauthored a groundbreaking study, "House Search Traffic: Does It Matter?", recently published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics. The research, conducted with Dr. Davin Raiha (University of Notre Dame) and Dr. Youngme Seo (Toronto Metropolitan University), explores the impact of online search traffic on home sales outcomes.

The study examines how generating prospective buyer interest through search traffic affects key metrics such as sale prices and time on market. Using a novel dataset that combines property search traffic with MLS listing information, the researchers applied an instrumental variables approach that leverages exogenous variations in local weather to isolate the causal effect of search traffic.

Their findings reveal that properties receiving higher search traffic not only sell faster but also achieve higher sale prices. The research further quantifies the magnitude and heterogeneity of these effects, providing valuable insights for sellers, real estate professionals, and policymakers.

Kim’s work highlights the increasingly important role of digital engagement in real estate transactions and offers empirical evidence that attracting online attention can materially benefit sellers.

Read the full article here.