Abstract: Do minorities receive lower appraisals for similar housing compared to whites? I examine this question using a novel dataset that tracks the longitudinal refinancing history of US residential properties from 2002 to 2007. The analysis applies a "repeat refinances" framework, analogous to the repeat sales method, to control for time-invariant unobserved housing quality. Contrary to recent findings, I do not find evidence that the appraisals received by minority homeowners are lower than those received by white homeowners for houses of similar quality. The results are robust after controlling for the owners' financial conditions and lender-specific factors. Additionally, I benchmark the appraisal value to the market value predicted from a hedonic pricing model and find that appraisals are not more likely to be below the market values for minority-owned homes than for white-owned homes. These findings highlight the importance of unobserved housing quality when studying racial differences in housing valuation.

Abstract: This paper provides housing market evidence on the updating of reference points. To do so, I estimate a structural model of household listing behavior with an adaptive reference point, using a rich dataset that traces the transaction, refinancing, and listing history of US residential properties. Home sellers update the reference point from the original purchase price to the appraised price associated with the recent refinance mortgage. This dynamic view of reference points better explains the aggregate price-volume correlation.

Abstract: We examine the impact of stay-at-home (SAH) orders on housing markets through the lens of a search-theoretic framework. By restricting in-person searches, SAH orders created a natural experiment to assess how temporary disruptions to search technology influence housing outcomes. We find prices rose while sale hazard, sales, and listings declined, particularly in neighborhoods with more search frictions proxied by older housing and lower internet penetration. A random matching model with heterogeneous buyers explains these patterns, showing that SAH-induced delays shifted the buyer pool toward more motivated buyers, leading to higher prices and lower liquidity even after SAH orders were lifted.