Fire Sales and House Prices: Evidence from Estate Sales Due to Sudden Death
利用房主突发死亡导致被迫出售房产的自然实验，分离供需效应，发现被迫出售会产生抛售折扣，且折扣在出售紧急、市场条件差和卖方财务受限时更大。
This study investigates when forced sales of real estate turn into fire sales by using a natural experiment that allows us to separate supply and demand effects: Forced sales result from sudden death of house owners and are thus unrelated to current market conditions. We find that forced sales result in fire sale discounts. Discounts increase when the sale is urgent, market conditions are poor, and the seller is financially constrained. Overall, our study identifies when forced sales lead to fire sale discounts, and highlights that fire sales occur even in the absence of temporary demand shocks. This paper was accepted by Amit Seru, finance.