Sophia Gilbukh
Asst Professor
Zicklin School of Business
Department: W. Newman Dept of Real Estate
Areas of expertise:
Email Address: sophia.gilbukh@baruch.cuny.edu
> View CV- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Education
Ph.D., Economics, NYU Stern School of Business United States
B.S., Mathematics, Haverford College Haverford PA
| Semester | Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2023 | RES | 3200 | Real Estate Fin and Investment |
| Fall 2023 | RES | 3200 | Real Estate Fin and Investment |
| Fall 2022 | RES | 3200 | Real Estate Fin and Investment |
| Fall 2022 | RES | 3200 | Real Estate Fin and Investment |
| Fall 2021 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2021 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2020 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2020 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2019 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2019 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Spring 2019 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2018 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
| Fall 2018 | RES | 3400 | Real Estate Capital Markets |
Journal Articles
Gilbukh, S., Haughwout, A., Tracy, J., & Landau, R. (2023). The Price to Rent Ratio: A Macroprudential Application. Real Estate Economics, 51(2). 503-532.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P. (2021). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and The Housing Cycle. The Review of Financial Studies,
Gilbukh, S., & Roldan, P. (2021). Firm dynamics and pricing under customer capital accumulation. Journal of Monetary Economics, Volume 118. pp. 99-119.
Gilbukh, S., & Cabral, L. (2020). Rational buyers search when prices increase. Journal of Economic Theory, Volume 187(0022-0531). pp. 104998.
Gilbukh, S., Eggertsson, G., & Denes, M. (2013). Deficits, Public Debt Dynamics and Tax and Spending Multipliers. Economic Journal, 123(566). F133-F163.
Media Contributions
Gilbukh, S., Goldsmith-Pinkham, P., & Sinkinson, M. (2022). promarket.org.
Gilbukh, S., Haughwout, A. F., Landau, R., & Tracy, J. (2019). Did Tax Reform Raise the Cost of Owning a Home?.
The 2018 slowdown in the housing market has been a subject of intense interest to the press and policymakers, including articles reporting a slowing in house price growth and a decline in home construction. Today we follow up on our colleagues’ research on whether the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) has contributed to a slowdown in the housing market, looking closely at what price signals tell us about the trade-off between owning and renting.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P. (2018). Quantities and Prices during the Housing Bust.
Presentations
Gilbukh, S., Lopez, L., Conklin, J., & Ambrose, B. (2024, May 30). How the Source of Financing Discrimination Affects Housing Opportunities for FHA Buyers. AREUEA National Conference. Washington, D.C.: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S., Lopez, L., Conklin, J., & Ambrose, B. (2024, June 8). How the Source of Financing Discrimination Affects Housing Opportunities for FHA Buyers. UEA International Conference. Copenhagen, Denmark: Urban Economics Association.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, January 31). How the Source of Financing Discrimination Affects Housing Opportunities for FHA Buyers. AREUEA Virtual Seminar Series. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, June 8). Application Choice in the Design of Social Housing Allocations: Evidence from France by Lisa Botbol. UEA Internation Coference. Copenhagen, Denmark: Urban Economics Association.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, June 27). In Search of the Matching Function in the Housing Market by Cristian Badarinza, Vimal Balasumbramaniam, and Tarun Ramadorai. Summer Real Estate Research Symposium. Honolulu, HI: Fisher Center for Real Estate at Berkeley Haas.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, May 29). Concentration, Labor Quality, and Efficiency: Evidence from Barriers in the Real Estate Industry by Jeanna Kenney. AREUEA National Conference. Washington, D.C.: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, March 22). More Experienced Intermedieries - More Principal-Agent Problems?. American Real Estate Society Spring Conference 2024. Orlando, FL: American Real Estate Society (ARES).
Gilbukh, S., Lopez, L., Conklin, J., & Ambrose, B. (2024, July 24). How the Source of Financing Discrimination Affects Housing Opportunities for FHA Buyers. NBER Summer Institute. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, June 6). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Search in Housing Markets. London, United Kingdom: Imperial College Business School.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, April 4). Frictional and Speculative Vacancies: The Effects of an Empty Homes Tax*. Third DC Search and Matching Conference. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, April 4). More Experienced Intermedieries - More Principal-Agent Problems?. Third DC Search and Matching Conference. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board.
Gilbukh, S. (2024, March 22). The More, the Merrier: Agent Connectedness in Real Estate Trading Networks, Discussion. American Real Estate Society Spring Conference 2024. Orlando, FL: American Real Estate Society (ARES).
Gilbukh, S. (2024, May 22). Mortgage Lock-In Mobility and Labor Reallocation by Julia Fonseca and Lu Liu. SFS Cavalcade. Atlanta, GA: Society of Financial Studies.
Gilbukh, S. (2023, November 7). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. University of Connecticut Applied Microeconomics Seminar. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut.
Gilbukh, S. (2023, December 5). Unintended Consequences of the FHA Program. NYU Furman Center. New York, NY: NYU Furman Center.
Gilbukh, S. (2023, June 2). Pricing and incentives in the Housing Market, Discussion. AREUEA National Conference. Washington, DC: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2023, May 23). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. NYC Real Estate Conference. New York, NY: Columbia University.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, January 9). Using High-Frequency Evaluations to Estimate Discrimination: Evidence from Mortgage Loan Officers, Discussion. AREUEA at ASSA. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, December 15). Unintended Consequences of FHA/VA Government Programs. Workshop "Housing and the Economy". online: Paris School of Economics.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, November 28). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Haverford College Student Group Seminar. Online: Haverford College.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, November 11). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. University of Southern California Applied Micro Seminar. Los Angelos, CA: University of Southern California.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, May 31). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Canadian Economic Association Conference. online: CEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, February 16). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Manhattan College Seminar. Online: Manhattan College.
Gilbukh, S. (2022, January 9). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. AREUEA at ASSA. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, March 5). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. Cornell University, Applied Economics & Policy Seminar. Online: SC Johnson College of Business.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, June 3). "Gender Bias in Commercial Real Estate", Discussion. AREUEA National Conference. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, August 26). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. AREUEA National Conference. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, October 8). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Penn State University Seminar. State College, PA: Penn State University.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, May 26). "The Mortgage-Cash Premium Puzzle", Discussion. SFS Cavalcade North America. online: Society for Financial Studies (SFS).
Gilbukh, S. (2021, January 3). The impact of Real Estate Agent’s Networks on Price and Liquidity, Discussion. AREUEA at ASSA. online: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, October 15). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Urban Economic Association Conference. online: UEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, June 16). "Why is Intermediating Houses so Difficult? Evidence from iBuyers", Discussion. WFA. online: Western Finance Association.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, April 21). Segmented Search in the Housing Market. Moscow State University Applied Microeconomics Seminar. online: Moscow State University.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, May 12). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. Baruch College Sandy Klein Real Estate Seminar Series. New York: Baruch College.
Gilbukh, S. (2021, November 5). The Price to Rent Ratio: A Macroprudential Application. Bank of Lithuania Seminar Series. online: Bank of Lithuania.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-PInkham, P. (2020, June 20). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. 2020 WFA Meeting. Online: Western Finance Association.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-PInkham, P. (2020, August 25). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. SITE 2020: "Financial Regulation". Online: Stanford University.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, June 8). Discounts and Deadlines in Consumer Search, Discussion. 10th Consumer Search and Switching Costs Workshop. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, January 4). Brokerage Choice, Dual Agency and Housing Market Strength, Discussion. AREUEA at ASSA. Atlanta, GA: AREUEA.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, June 16). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. 2019 Summer Real Estate Research Symposium. Huntington, CA: Fisher Center of Real Estate & Urban Economics at Berkeley University, Haas Business School.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, October 15). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. University of Toronto, Seminar Series. Toronto, Canada: Rotman School of Management.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, June 25). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. AREUEA International Conference. Milan, Italy: Bocconi University.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, June 28). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. Society for Economic Dynamics. St. Louis, MI: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Gilbukh, S. (2019, June 3). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. Hong Kong University Seminar Series. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P. (2018, October 26). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. Greater Boston Urban and Real Estate Economics Seminar. Boston, MA: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P. (2018, September 10). Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle. Haverford College Seminar Series. Haverford, PA: Baruch College.
Gilbukh, S., Tracy, J., & Haughwout, A. (2018, October 31). The Price to Rent Ratio: A Macroprudential Application. DC RE Valuation Symposium. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae, University of Connecticut.
Research Currently in Progess
Gilbukh, S., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P.(n.d.). Competing When No-one Wants to Work With You: The Entry of RedFin in the Real Estate Market. In Progress.
The commission for real estate agents is remarkably high and stable, despite the low cost of entry into the labor market for agents. Explanations for this high rate have centered around thebilateral nature of the transaction in real estate markets, with agents representing the buyers and the sellers. A key feature of this arrangement is that buying and listing agents can exercise some discretion in what agents they choose to work with. This ability to "exclude" other agents from the market lends a natural setting for tacid collusion on commission, where agents might be reluctant to deviate from the standard rate in order to maintain good standing with other agents. This paper presents the first empirical test of whether agents attempt to tacitly collude to exclude competing agents who offer lower commissions. We exploit the entry of RedFin, a large discount real estate brokerage, whose transparent strategy was to charge their customers lower commission fees. Combined with a dataset covering 150 different regional listing datasets from 2008-2018, we document the entry of RedFin into a number of markets, and attempt to identify whether RedFin agents were shut out of transactions by non-RedFin agents.
Gilbukh, S.(n.d.). New Listings Alert: Alternative Approach to Modeling Housing Search. In Progress.
This paper proposes an alternative approach to modeling search in real estate. Instead of search frictions resulting from buyers' inability to sample the entire distribution of houses, all successful matches between buyers and sellers realize immediately. The current stock of buyers and sellers are therefore mismatched and both sides are waiting for the new arrivals in the market to find a successful counter party. Thus, houses on the market sell to newly arrived buyers only, and, similarly, buyers who have been looking for a while only buy newly listed properties. Using data of 3.3 million listings from one of the biggest Multiple Listing Service platform in the United States, I test several predictions of this model that are at odds with the more commonly used search models in this literature. I find that, consistent with the model, 1) sales are much more correlated with new listings than they are with the market inventory, 2) sale hazard rates decline after the initial period, and 3) houses that sell in the initial period are likely to sell at a premium while those that spend a long time on the market sell at a discount.
Gilbukh, S., Ambrose, B., Conklin, J., & Lopez, L.(n.d.). Unintended Consequences of FHA/VA Government Programs. In Progress.
In this project we ask whether and why FHA/VA borrowers are excluded from a part of the housing market. Using proprietary data on for-sale real estate listings, we find that close to 50% of listed for sale FHA/VA eligible homes do not accept bids from FHA/VA borrowers. We thus find that the FHA and VA loan programs, while intended to help low income and veteran families become homeowners, significantly limit the choice set of properties for these borrowers. Preliminary findings suggest that the variation in whether an eligible listing accepts or excludes FHA/VA bids is primarily driven by location and real estate agents. In this project we are working to explore the reasons behind this exclusion and investigate the role of real estate agents as gatekeepers in the market. The PSC CUNY Research Grant would greatly help me with conference and copywriting related expenses in the coming year as we prepare a draft and present this project at conferences for feedback.
Gilbukh, S.(n.d.). More Experienced Intermediaries - More Principal-Agent Problems. Why it is Still Worth It to Work with Top Agents.. In Progress.
This paper explores the role of real estate agent experience in the principal-agent problem arising from the fixed commission compensation structure. I find that the principal-agent problem is more severe in experienced agents as evidenced by lower list prices all else equal for listings represented by top agents. However, the experienced agents are much better at matching their clients at any price point. Overall I find that benefits of working with experienced agents significantly outweigh the costs of slightly lower list prices.
| Title | Funding Agency Sponsor | Start Date | End Date | Awarded Date | Total Funding | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unintended Consequences of FHA/VA Government Programs | PSC CUNY 53 | 07/01/2022 | 12/31/2023 | 04/15/2022 | 3500 | Funded - In Progress |
| "Segmentation in the US Housing Market: Will Zillow Make Real Estate Agents Obsolete?" | Eugene Lang Fellowship | 06/01/2021 | 06/30/2022 | 05/07/2021 | 2438.38 | Funded - In Progress |
| Segmented Search in The Housing Market E | PSC CUNY 52 | 07/01/2021 | 12/31/2023 | 05/15/2021 | 12000 | Funded - In Progress |
| Honor / Award | Organization Sponsor | Date Received | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zicklin School of Business Teaching Excellence Award | Zicklin School of Business | 2020 | |
| AREUEA Homer Hoyt Doctoral Dissertation Award (Third Prize) | American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA) | 2019 | Recognizing the best dissertations in the field of Real Estate |
| C.S.W.E.P. Summer Dissertation Fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York | Federal Reserve Bank of New York | 2017 | Sponsored by the American Economic Association and the National Science Foundation, summer economics fellowships are available to senior graduate students and junior faculty. During their residency, fellows participate as members of the research community while engaged in a research project of their own choosing. Fellows will be mentored by experienced economists both on scientific issues, and career issues such as negotiating publications, the job market, and advancement strategies. |
Department
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Colvin Case Study Challenge | Faculty Advisor | 9/1/2020 | 12/31/2020 |
| Kislak Real Estate Institute Competition | Faculty Advisor | 9/1/2020 | 11/13/2020 |
College
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid/Online Instruction Programming Working Group | Committee Member | Present | |
| Course Coordinator for RES3400 | Course Coordinator for RES3400 | Present | |
| Faculty Search Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Continuous Improvement Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Faculty Search Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Undergraduate Curriculum Committee | Attendee, Meeting | Present | |
| Department Seminar Committee | Committee Chair | Present | |
| Course Coordinator for RES3200 | Course Coordinator for RES3200 | Present | |
| Faculty Observations | Observer of Faculty | Present | |
| Rosen Real Estate Entrepreneurship Case Study Competition | Faculty Advisor | Present | |
| Career Development Events | Panel Moderator | Present | |
| Baruch Business Academy | Faculty Advisor | Present | |
| Graduate Curriculum Committee | Attendee, Meeting | Present | |
| The Colvin Case Study Challenge | Faculty Advisor | 12/15/2022 | |
| Kislak Real Estate Institute Competition | Faculty Advisor | 11/16/2022 | |
| The Colvin Case Study Challenge | Faculty Advisor | 12/15/2021 | |
| MS Programs Welcome Event | Faculty Advisor | 8/19/2021 | |
| The Colvin Case Study Challenge | Faculty Advisor | 12/31/2020 | |
| Kislak Real Estate Institute Competition | Faculty Advisor | 11/13/2020 | |
| MS Programs Open House | Faculty Advisor | 9/10/2019 | |
| MS Programs Open House | Faculty Advisor | 3/21/2018 |
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AREUEA Awards Committee | Committee Member | National | United States | 1/1/2022 | Present | International |
| Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 11/14/2023 | Present | International |
| Journal of Banking and Finance | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 1/8/2024 | Present | International |
| AREUEA International Committee | Committee Member | National | United States | 1/1/2022 | Present | International |
| Real Estate Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 1/11/2023 | Present | International |
| Management Science | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 4/11/2023 | Present | International |
| The Review of Economics and Statistics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 6/14/2023 | Present | International |
| Review of Financial Studies | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 8/17/2023 | Present | International |
| AREUEA National Conference Program Committee | Committee Member | National | United States | 1/1/2022 | Present | International |
| Journal of Urban Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 2/5/2024 | Present | International |
| Real Estate Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 4/23/2024 | Present | International |
| WREN Committee within AREUEA | Conference-Related | 5/30/2024 | Present | International | ||
| AREUEA Women in Real Estate Network (WREN) | Committee Member | National | United States | 1/1/2022 | Present | International |
| AREUEA-ASSA 2025 Conference Program Committee | Committee Member | National | United States | 1/1/2022 | Present | International |
| Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 10/12/2022 | 12/15/2022 | International |
| Review of Financial Studies | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 6/1/2022 | 6/6/2022 | International |
| Journal of Economics and Management Strategy | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 3/6/2022 | 3/7/2022 | International |
| Real Estate Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | National | United States | 3/1/2022 | 3/2/2022 | International |
| Review of Finance | Reviewer, Journal Article | 9/30/2021 | ||||
| Economics Bulletin | Reviewer, Journal Article | 6/30/2021 | ||||
| International Economic Review | Reviewer, Journal Article | 4/30/2021 | ||||
| Journal of Finance | Reviewer, Journal Article | 4/30/2021 | ||||
| Journal of Urban Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 3/31/2021 | ||||
| International Journal of Real Estate Studies | Reviewer, Journal Article | 2/28/2021 | ||||
| Real Estate Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 1/31/2021 | ||||
| The Review of Financial Studies | Reviewer, Journal Article | 10/31/2020 | ||||
| The Scandinavian Journal of Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 9/30/2020 | ||||
| Management Science | Reviewer, Journal Article | 8/31/2020 | ||||
| Journal of Urban Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 7/31/2020 | ||||
| Economica | Reviewer, Journal Article | 5/31/2020 | ||||
| Journal of Housing Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 3/31/2020 | ||||
| Review of Economic Dynamics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 9/15/2019 | ||||
| Real Estate Economics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 8/20/2019 | ||||
| Review of Economics and Statistics | Reviewer, Journal Article | 6/5/2019 | ||||
| Journal of Economic Theory | Reviewer, Journal Article | 5/5/2018 |