Year: 2025
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Intermediaries are central to complex transactions. In housing markets, real estate brokers coordinate information flows, reduce search costs, and guide lay buyers and sellers through legal and financial steps. Despite this importance, scholarship on brokerage is dispersed across disciplines and methods. This paper presents a semi-systematic review of peer-reviewed articles published between 1970 and 2021. We map (i) study characteristics (country of origin and field), (ii) the distribution of units of analysis (individual, firm/organization, market), and (iii) the most frequently examined topics. Our synthesis indicates steadily rising academic interest but a fragmented knowledge base. We conclude by highlighting gaps—especially the scarcity of cross-country comparisons and the relative lack of qualitative and mixed-method studies on brokers’ practices and experiences.
Source: Real Estate
Authors: Martin Ahlenius, Björn Berggren, Neville Hurst
Language: English
Topic: Housing Market and Economics
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
Funder: Högskolan i Gävle
OpenAlex ID: W4416996332