Political Alignment and Neighborhood Choice Among Homebuyers

with Yongqiang Chu, Thao Le, and Lily Shen

We study the impact of buyers’ political identity on home purchasing using North Carolina voter records linked to more than 250,000 housing transactions and over six million comparable MLS listings. Using a Bartik-type shift-share IV framework, we find that buyers are significantly more likely to purchase homes in politically aligned neighborhoods, with alignment increasing purchase probability by about 1.58 percentage points relative to a 3 percent baseline. The effect is strongest among Republican buyers and declines sharply from 2010 to 2019 despite rising national polarization.

Presented at: AREUEA-ASSA Conference (2027)*; ARES 42nd Annual Meeting, Destin, FL (2026); Homer Hoyt Institute, West Palm Beach, FL (2026)*

* presented by co-author