Soft Negotiators or Modest Builders? Why Women Earn Lower Real Estate Returns
49 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2022 Last revised: 6 Dec 2022
Date Written: October 12, 2021
Abstract
Using repeat-sales data on apartments in Sweden, we estimate the gender gap in housing returns. We confirm that single women’s returns gross of renovations are lower than single men’s by more than 2pp, that half of this gap is due to market timing, and that it is concentrated in short holding period. Adding administrative data on renovation expenses and traders’ background, we find that women are much less likely to undertake renovations and to specialize in real estate professional activities. Once these differences are accounted for, we do not find any gender gap in real estate returns.
Keywords: Gender gap, real estate, returns
JEL Classification: G5, G11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation