Essays on Housing Supply

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays on housing supply.The first essay, co-authored with Patrick Bayer and David Berger, examines the causes and consequences of housing renovations and teardowns. We develop a non-parametric method to detect major upgrades in existing properties and propose a framework for modeling supply decisions.The second essay documents an empirical pattern in which multimarket homebuilders set prices based on demand conditions across different markets. I show that prices in one market are influenced by demand in others and that this spillover effect is stronger for financially constrained builders. Additionally, I provide evidence that these spillovers are more pronounced for builders with geographically concentrated portfolios.The third essay presents and estimates a model of multimarket builders' pricing decisions, incorporating both competitive intensity within each market and the need for liquidity. Using this model, I quantify the impact of geographical diversification on builder-level markups and profits.