Research

E-Grocery and Housing Prices: A New Nexus in Urban Economics

with Liuming Yang

Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of e-grocery services on the housing market, revealing that e-grocery is perceived as a positive amenity that contributes to a 5.4% increase in local housing prices. We provide evidence that local households increase online consumption following the entry of e-grocery. However, the total consumption increases without increasing offline consumption, which indicates that households spend more due to convenience of e-grocery. We also find that that the entry of e-grocery reduces inequality in the urban housing market, showing stronger positive pricing effects in low-income, lower education levels, and higher black population areas. Additionally, while e-grocery provides positive pricing effects, the addition of delivery services to existing retail stores does not lead to increased housing prices, suggesting that these stores are already perceived as external amenities in housing value.  This paper implies the importance of considering technological advancements' unequal distribution of benefits and their effects on housing affordability.

Beyond Green Infrastructure: Spillover Effects of EV Charging Stations on Local Retail Markets

Under Review

Rent Premium of Institutional Investors in the Single-Family Rental Market

with Dongshin Kim

Abstract: This paper examines the rental rate by institutional investors compared to individual landlords in the single-family rental market. Using large-scale rental listing data across U.S. metropolitan areas, we find that institutional investors exhibit premiums in rental rates. In return, properties held by institutional investors stay longer in the market to be leased. We also investigate how the rental market competition and market rental rate level impact on the rent premiums.

Online Property Valuation, Price Discovery, and Market Efficiency in the Housing Market 

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of publicly available property valuation on price discovery and sales outcomes in the housing markets using Zestimate, a popular property value estimate provided by the largest PropTech firm in the U.S. I find that sellers list their houses at inflated prices over the fundamental values when their Zestimates are biased upwards. This initial overpricing leads to a subsequent 2 percent reduction in listing prices and delays sale by 3 days on average. However, such properties are eventually sold at a higher price than similar houses with undervalued Zestimates. On the other hand, sellers of properties with overvalued Zestimates are more likely to withdraw them from the market due to overpricing. My findings suggest that while easy public access to property value estimates should in theory improve market efficiency, inaccurate valuation can in fact have the opposite effect as market participants rely heavily on online property values in their decision-making. 

*Presented at: 35th ASSA-AREUEA Doctoral Poster Session, 2022, FMA conference 2022

Not On My Street! Housing and Racial Effects of Atlanta Street Name Changes  

with Raphael Bostic, Jessica Dill, and Jorge de la Roca

Abstract: Using a unique street name change petition data throughout the early and mid-20th century, we investigate the impact of geographic discrimination has on home values. Specifically, street name change cases associated with racial consideration allow us to measure the micro-level discrimination on households. Using a diff-in-diff setting, we find that homes on streets where street name changed due to racial consideration experience a price decline when compared to homes on adjacent streets that did not undergo a name change. This negative pricing effects exist both in the short- and long-term and become more pronounced in the long-term. This negative pricing changes can be explained by race composition changes on those streets. We find that minority group migrated to streets with new names significantly more in 1920’s and 1930’s compared to streets that did not change names. It implies that white households tried to stop this migration by changing the street names, but street name change signal was not effective enough to prevent the movement. 

*Presented at: SEA 90th Annual Meeting, 15th UEA North American Meeting 

Natural Disaster and Asset Price: Evidence from the Public Commercial Real Estate Market  

(Previous title: Who Responds to Climate Risk? Evidence from Real Estate Investors)

with Jeongseop Song

Chung, J. “Ecommerce's Spillover Effects on the Local Retail Real Estate Market” February 1, 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Policy Hub: Macroblog. (here)

Chung, J. and Dill, J. “Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Demand for Office Space?” May 20, 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Policy Hub: Macroblog. (here)

Chung, J. and Dill, J. “COVID Lasted Longer than Expected. What Happened to Retail Space?” June 1, 2021.  Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Policy Hub: Macroblog. (here)