A real estate research study by two faculty members in Longwood’s College of Business and Economics was featured recently in an article in the Wall Street Journal.
The article "A Narrow Focus Helps Real-Estate Agents" (http://tinyurl.com/n869hr6) by Sanette Tanaka, which appeared June 14, examined a study by Dr. Bennie Waller, professor of finance and real estate and chair of the Department of Accounting, Economics, Finance and Real Estate; Dr. Ray Brastow, professor of economics; and Dr. Thomas Springer of Clemson University. The trio’s research was detailed in an article they wrote, "Efficiency and Incentives in Residential Brokerage," that appeared in the November 2012 issue of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, considered a "top-tier" journal.
In their study, Waller and Brastow found that properties listed within an agent’s GIS-determined service area were 3.3 percent more likely to sell and sold about three days sooner and for 1.21 percent more than properties outside that area. For properties above the median price, those differences are even more pronounced—they were 4 percent more likely to sell and sold in about 5.5 fewer days and for 1.71 percent more. The study looked at 8,085 residential real estate sales in southern Virginia from 1999-2009.
"Real estate agents who specialize in a geographic area just know the neighborhood better. That knowledge has value," said Waller, who was called by Tanaka and interviewed several times after she saw an online version of the journal article.
Waller and Brastow have conducted extensive research related to real estate brokerage and appraisal, much of which has been published in scholarly journals.
The article by Waller and Brastow "acknowledges the contributions" of Dr. Ed Kinman, associate professor of geography and interim assistant dean of the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences, "who processed the GIS algorithm critical to the content of this paper.
[Real estate agent image courtesy of Shutterstock]
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