Abstract

Prospective sellers of housing often commission housing agencies to broker transactions. The relationship between the waiting period for sellers (from the date of commission to the date of transaction) and housing variables is a topic of considerable interest to real estate investors, housing agents, and researchers. This study examines the effect of these factors on the waiting period. Data was collected on 4,256 housing transactions brokered by agencies from 2007 to 2011 in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Parametric survival analysis was performed to produce a probability model for the transaction waiting period for sellers and establish a relationship between the waiting period and housing variables. Empirical results show that the transaction waiting period for sellers follows the Weibull probability distribution.

Key words: Housing transactions, waiting period, housing agents, survival analysis.