Determinants of Buyer Search in a Housing Market

Using data collected from specially‐designed questionnaires, the duration of search by a house buyer is estimated. Duration is measured in two ways: in terms of time and in terms of the number of houses seen. To explain this data, several features must be added to a simple model when search models are applied to a housing market. Many of the statistically significant variables, such as prior information and the quality of information provided by a newspaper or a real estate agent, deal with the provision of information. The type of agency that employs the agent and the characteristics of the buyer have little effect.