Author: James E. Larsen

Start Page: 13
End Page: 19
Volume: 4
Issue Number: 1
Year: 1989
Publication: Journal of Real Estate Research

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a study of single-family, detached home transfers, conducted to determine if rational expectations holds as a function of owner-tenure. A counter-rational expectations notion, which has intuitive appeal, is that sellers with relatively long owner-tenure may be more willing to accept "low" offers compared to sellers with short owner-tenure. The study supports this notion. Owner-tenure is found to be significantly related to the real profit realized by sellers. This implies that rational expectations does not hold as a function of owner-tenure and that owner-tenure is a relevant factor for buyers to consider in formulating a purchase offer.