Online property brokerage platform and prices of second-hand houses: Evidence from Lianjia’s entry

Posted: 20 Mar 2023

See all articles by Xiuzhi Zhang

Xiuzhi Zhang

Renmin University of China

Zhijie Lin

Tsinghua University - School of Economics and Management

Ying Zhang

University of Auckland Business School

Yiqing Zheng

Tsinghua University

Jian Zhang

Central University of Finance & Economics - School of Economics

Date Written: October 2021

Abstract

Despite the popular emergence of online property brokerage platforms in the second-hand housing market, little is known about whether and how these platforms would influence the market, especially in terms of housing price. We thus assemble and analyze data from multiple sources about the entry of a representative Chinese platform (Lianjia.com) and local housing market for empirical validation. Our analysis found that platform entry may decrease the price of second-hand houses, and the impact would be weakened with the increase in new house price and total households. Moreover, platform entry eventually may boost the sales of second-hand houses. These notable findings offer several important contributions. First, our research is one of the first to explore the intricate impact of online property brokerage platforms on housing price. Second, our research is one of the few to study the impact of online intermediaries on the sales price of large consumer goods. Third, we further uncover some contingent factors and subsequent downstream outcome of this impact. Practically, our findings also offer important implications to practitioners and policy makers. Full paper available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2021.101104

Keywords: Lianjia, Brokerage platform, Online intermediary, Platform entry, Housing price, Housing market

Suggested Citation

Zhang, Xiuzhi and Lin, Zhijie and Zhang, Ying and Zheng, Yiqing and Zhang, Jian, Online property brokerage platform and prices of second-hand houses: Evidence from Lianjia’s entry (October 2021). Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 50, 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2021.101104, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4392512

Xiuzhi Zhang

Renmin University of China

Room B906
Xianjin Building
Beijing, Beijing 100872
China

Zhijie Lin (Contact Author)

Tsinghua University - School of Economics and Management ( email )

Haidian District
Beijing, Beijing 100084
China

Ying Zhang

University of Auckland Business School ( email )

12 Grafton Rd
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, 1010
New Zealand

HOME PAGE: https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/people/profile/zhang-ying

Yiqing Zheng

Tsinghua University

Beijing, 100084
China

Jian Zhang

Central University of Finance & Economics - School of Economics ( email )

Beijing 100081
China

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