Real estate and personality

• We examine the correlation between personality traits and individual preferences in the real estate market.
• We find significant correlation between the Big Five personality traits and preferences over housing tenure, mortgage, and investment attributes.
• We find evidence indicating that the detected micro-level personality-preferences association conveys macro consequences on real estate market equilibrium outcomes.
• The outcomes are in line with the intuition that arises from applied studies of personality.

This paper explores preferences and choices in the real estate market from a personality perspective. First, we employ micro-level data on individual scores on the Big Five personality test and personal financial real estate preferences to evaluate the role of personality in individual real estate market-related preferences. Empirical results provide solid evidence for an association between personality traits and individual preferences on a series of housing tenure, mortgage, and real estate investment attributes. Moreover, based on cross-sectional state-level aggregate personality scores and macro real estate market indicators, we find evidence indicating that the detected micro-level personality-preferences association conveys macro consequences on real estate market equilibrium outcomes. Research findings thus provide a new perspective for understanding individual preferences and equilibrium outcomes in the real estate market.