Dean H. Gatzlaff+

• Doctor of Business Administration
• Florida State University

The efficiency of the real estate market is a major concern for homeowners, investors, lenders, policymakers, and researchers. Modern academic literature has mostly moved beyond an early emphasis on formal tests of informational efficiency. The Grossman and Stiglitz (The American Economic Review 70:393–408, 1980) paradox holds that perfect informat...

This paper examines the effect of hurricane mitigation features and their verification on the transaction prices of single-family homes. Some of these features are obvious to buyers and sellers (visible) and others are not easily observed (hidden). Prior research on the relationship between mitigation features and house prices has implicitly assume...

The mortgage market collapse which followed the burst of the housing bubble in 2007 led to unprecedented levels of mortgage default, mortgage foreclosure, and housing vacancies. The dramatic increase in mortgage terminations prompted extensive discussions among academics, industry practitioners, regulators, and policymakers. These discussions inclu...

This paper examines the effect of hurricane mitigation features and their verification on the transaction prices of single-family homes. Some of these features are obvious to buyers and sellers (visible) and others are not easily observed (hidden). Prior research on the relationship between these features and house prices has implicitly assumed tha...

We examine the use (and non-use) of list price information in the process of marketing commercial real estate. While housing market research suggests that list prices can serve as a strong anchor and/or signal, list price information is included in less than one-third of the commercial property sales and is less likely to be included as part of the...

We examine the use (and non-use) of list price information in the process of marketing commercial real estate. While housing market research suggests that list prices can serve as a strong anchor and/or signal, list price information is included in less than one-third of the commercial property sales and is less likely to be included as part of the...

The articles featured in this issue are introduced, their relationships noted, and their key points highlighted.

This is the first study to examine the post-earnings-announcement drift anomaly in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) context. The efficient markets hypothesis suggests that unexpected earnings should be fully incorporated into asset prices soon after being publicly announced. We hypothesize that publicly announced earnings signals may be more c...

This study examines the feasibility of constructing reliable commercial property price indices using property tax records. We employ the Clapp and Giacotto (Journal of American Statistical Association, 87(418), 300–306, 1992) assessed-value method to estimate price indices for commercial properties in Florida. The estimated Florida commercial prope...

This paper examines the extant literature on horizontal and vertical inequity in the taxation of real property. Some major conclusions from the literature are: (a) horizontal inequity may occur from unequal knowledge of market participants, unequal negotiating skills of buyers and sellers, and actions by officials to limit property tax increases; (...

This study examines the capitalization of property taxes in real property. Capitalization theory would suggest that property values depend on the level of public services and taxes within a community. Differences in taxes relative to public services should be reflected in property values. Studies on property tax capitalization have essentially test...

This study examines the correlation of the frequency of the sale of investment-grade property with national, regional and local variables, including property- and owner-specific characteristics. More specifically, the study identifies the primary factors that "explain" intertemporal changes in transaction frequency in the underlying properties used...

Liquidity in private asset markets is notoriously variable over time. Therefore, indices of changes in market value that are based on asset transaction prices will systematically reflect intertemporal differences in the ease of selling a property. We define and develop a concept of "constant-liquidity value" in the context of a model that is charac...

This paper develops the concept of a constant-liquidity value index for private asset markets and an econometric procedure for estimating such an index. We demonstrate this procedure on the NCREIF database of institutional commercial property. Private asset markets are distinguished from public securities exchanges in that unique, whole assets are...

The effects on real estate development of shore-protection efforts that lower erosion rates and storm hazards are both controversial and difficult to detect. A simple theoretical model indicates that shore protection is likely to "tilt" development from areas a few hundred feet inland toward beachfront property. A modified repeat-sale house price i...

This paper investigates the relative maintenance levels of owner-and renter-occupied housing by examining their short- and long-run appreciation rates. We modify the standard repeat-sales estimation procedure to test whether owner-occupied housing appreciates faster than renter-occupied housing. This procedure holds constant all structural factors,...

Analysis of cross-sectional or intertemporal variations in house values among localities requires reliable house value indices. However, prior studies applying the hedonic method to transaction data have reported price series that may be biased. Our paper investigates a possible cause of bias and uses a censored regression technique extended to an...

This study employs the repeat-sales transaction-based methodology, pioneered in the housing literature, to estimate commercial property price indices for the state of Florida over the 1975-97 period. The study is designed to: (i) investigate the feasibility of applying this method to estimate reliable commercial property indices; (ii) compare the t...

Analysis of variations in house values among localities requires reliable house value indices. Gatzlaff and Haurin (1994) indicate that traditional hedonic house value index estimates, using only information from a sample of sold homes to estimate value movements for the entire housing stock, may be subject to substantial bias. This article extends...

This paper investigates the relative maintenance levels of owner and renter-occupied housing by examining their short and long-run appreciation rates. A large data set that includes information on every parcel in Pinellas County, Florida is used to control for structural and locational differences. Standard repeat-sale index estimation procedures a...

This paper examines the variation in the rates of house price appreciation within an individual metropolitan market. A methodology is developed to examine the locational variation in house price changes in Dade County (Miami) Florida, from 1971 to 1992. House price appreciation appears to be somewhat spatially related; that is, it varies by municip...

The loss of an anchor tenant in a shopping center can have far-reaching effects. Not only are the remaining local tenants affected by the reduction in drawing power of the center, but the community in which the center is located can be affected by the erosion of its tax base. This chapter examines the effect of the loss of a shopping center anchor...

This paper provides a review of the studies that have examined the efficiency of the real estate market. Existing evidence suggests that real estate market segments (i.e., housing, income-property, and land markets) experience different degrees of efficiency. Short-run returns to housing (and real house price changes) are generally found to be posi...

This paper investigates whether reliable house price indices can be constructed using a limited set of descriptive variables on a large number of observations. Four primary index methods are compared: (1) median sale price, (2) restricted hedonic, (3) repeat sales, and (4) the assessed-value technique. The paper examines the precision and accuracy...

This paper examines the influence that unexpected inflation has on the reported time pattern in housing returns. Two alternative models of expected inflation are used to study its effect: a rational expectations model and an adaptive expectations model. Findings indicate that both estimates of unexpected inflation are positively correlated with exc...

This paper investigates the factors that influence the earnings of real estate appraisers. Seven types of factors are identified and examined: experience, effort, education, professional training and credentials, personal characteristics, firm characteristics, and market characteristics. Appraiser earnings are found to be consistent with the standa...

This paper examines the effect that the loss of a shopping center anchor tenant has on the rental rates of the remaining tenants. Using data from smaller and moderately sized centers located in Florida and Georgia, two alternative regression procedures are employed and the results compared. Both estimates suggest similar and substantial effects to...

This article examines the regulation of real estate development patterns from the perspective of the suburban household. Employing concepts of efficiency developed in the financial economics literature, it argues that uncertainty about future growth impacts, coupled with transactions costs, contributes to the motivation to enact growth controls. Th...

This paper examines the impact of the development of the Miami Metrorail system on residential property values proximate to its station locations. Comparing repeat-sales indices and applying hedonic regression methods yielded consistent results. In both cases the analyses support the hypothesis that residential values were, at most, only weakly imp...