The House Price Impacts of Corporate Headquarter Relocations

Abstract

<p>This project examines the house price impacts of corporate headquarter relocations. Corporate relocations potentially impact house prices through the increase or decrease in local economic activity that results from the relocation event. Using a difference in differences approach, I compare the impacts of a relocation on a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) house prices to similar metropolitan statistical areas house prices that have not seen relocations by corporations. Local house price indexes from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) are used to examine changes in house prices at the MSA level to gauge a relocation effect. Data on the housing market characteristics from the U.S. Census Bureau is used to create a sample of comparison cities. Analysis is conducted using data before and after a relocation to analyze house prices appreciation rate impacts from a corporation’s headquarter relocation or merger during the 2000 to 2015 time period. It is expected that data will indicate a negative effect due to the exit of a firm and a boost to the local economy that receives a firm’s new headquarters.</p>