Search and Vacancies in the French real estate market

Abstract

Using internet users activity record on a real estate web platform I measure, quarterly, housing market tightness for more than 250 cities of the Paris area, over a four years period. An upward sloping Beveridge curve linking vacancy and demand rate is observed both across locations and over time. Applying a random matching model, this measure of the market tightness is compared with volumes and prices dynamics. In line with the theory, I find a positive, statistically significant, impact of the buyer-seller ratio on both rotation rate and price variation.