Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets

Abstract This article investigates the global herding behavior across the housing markets. Using the OECD quarterly data from 1970 to 2022, I find that global herding is contingent on the concurrent interplay between the US price-to-rent regimes and average price changes. Evidence is consistent with...

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Main Author: Taewoo You
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-05-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05021-5
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author Taewoo You
author_facet Taewoo You
author_sort Taewoo You
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This article investigates the global herding behavior across the housing markets. Using the OECD quarterly data from 1970 to 2022, I find that global herding is contingent on the concurrent interplay between the US price-to-rent regimes and average price changes. Evidence is consistent with the proposed view that global herding is displayed when investors use the pseudo signal flying from the US market for confirmation. I also find that valuation anchors, such as price-to rent and price-to-income, also display correlated behaviors among countries, suggesting the existence of spurious herding as a result of investors’ common responses to changes in fundamental factors. Even after the effects of the fundamental anchors are purged away, evidence on global herding is substantial, suggesting that the global herding behavior is psychological. This article asserts that the global herding behavior is driven by investors’ confirmation bias boosted by coincidence between average price changes and the expectation on the US housing market. The evidence is consistent with the view that investors are overconfident on the noisy public information and the unproven belief concerning the association between the external public signal and ex post house price changes.
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spelling doaj-art-b50fb9cf25324c32a33b740b0fc7efae2025-08-20T02:33:24ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-05-0112111410.1057/s41599-025-05021-5Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing marketsTaewoo You0Department of Business Administration, Myongji CollegeAbstract This article investigates the global herding behavior across the housing markets. Using the OECD quarterly data from 1970 to 2022, I find that global herding is contingent on the concurrent interplay between the US price-to-rent regimes and average price changes. Evidence is consistent with the proposed view that global herding is displayed when investors use the pseudo signal flying from the US market for confirmation. I also find that valuation anchors, such as price-to rent and price-to-income, also display correlated behaviors among countries, suggesting the existence of spurious herding as a result of investors’ common responses to changes in fundamental factors. Even after the effects of the fundamental anchors are purged away, evidence on global herding is substantial, suggesting that the global herding behavior is psychological. This article asserts that the global herding behavior is driven by investors’ confirmation bias boosted by coincidence between average price changes and the expectation on the US housing market. The evidence is consistent with the view that investors are overconfident on the noisy public information and the unproven belief concerning the association between the external public signal and ex post house price changes.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05021-5
spellingShingle Taewoo You
Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
title_full Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
title_fullStr Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
title_full_unstemmed Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
title_short Confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
title_sort confirmation bias and herding behavior across the housing markets
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05021-5
work_keys_str_mv AT taewooyou confirmationbiasandherdingbehavioracrossthehousingmarkets