Crafting Lucky Prices in the Housing Market

Abstract While superstitious beliefs are known to influence property values through fixed attributes such as floor levels and address numbers, their role in price formation has received little attention. We provide novel evidence that housing prices bunch not only at round numbers but also at culturally “lucky” endings, particularly those ending in the digit 8. A hedonic price model reveals a 2.4 % premium for these “lucky-priced” homes. Our findings show that superstition functions as a behavioral heuristic in high-stakes bargaining, creating a new class of non-round focal points that systematically shape market outcomes.