Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/80687 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7484
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We provide the first solid evidence that Chinese superstitious beliefs can have significant effects on house prices in a North American market with a large immigrant population. Using real estate data on close to 117,000 house sales, we find that houses with address number ending in four are sold at a 2.2% discount and those ending in eight are sold at a 2.5% premium in comparison to houses with other addresses. These price effects are found either in neighborhoods with a higher than average percentage of Chinese residents, consistent with cultural preferences, or in repeated transactions, consistent with speculative behavior.
Subjects: 
superstition
lucky Chinese numbers
housing markets efficiency
immigration
JEL: 
D03
J15
R2
Z1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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