ABSTRACT
I explore the impact of changes to adverse possession laws, which govern the security of real estate, on home values. Contrary to legal theory favoring adverse possession, lowering legal protections lowers real estate asset value. Using housing price panel data and the quasi-random shock of a change in Pennsylvania adverse possession law, I confirm the financial hypothesis that strong legal protections are causally related to economic value of residential real estate assets. My findings cast doubt on the legal hypothesis that redistributing underutilized real estate increases economic value by creating incentives to improve the land for its owners or occupiers.
Joukov, Artem, Your Land is My Land: Civil Conquest, Asset Protection, and Real Estate Value (March 17, 2022).
First posted 2022-04-07 11:30:04
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