Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
12-17-2016
College/Unit
Chambers College of Business and Economics
Document Number
16-27
Department/Program/Center
Economics
Abstract
In Chinese culture, the number 8 is considered lucky and 4 is considered unlucky. We analyze the relationship between the presence of 8 s and 4 s in addresses and transaction prices paid by Chinese home buyers and sellers in a novel setting, Seattle, Washington, from 1990 to 2015. In the absence of explicit identifiers for Chinese individuals, we develop a probabilistic model for identifying ethnicity based on name alone. The results indicate Chinese buyers pay a 1-2% premium for addresses that include an 8 and 1% less for properties with a 4 in the address. These results are not related to unobserved property quality as there is no premium when Chinese sell properties with an 8 in the address. These results suggest that some Chinese home buyers in Seattle retain their Chinese cultural superstitions.
Digital Commons Citation
Humphreys, Brad R.; Nowak, Adam D.; and Zhou, Yang, "Cultural Superstitions and Residential Real Estate Prices: Transaction-level Evidence from the US Housing Market" (2016). Economics Faculty Working Papers Series. 212.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/econ_working-papers/212
