This dissertation consists of four essays with specific objectives. The overall objective is, however, to seek a further understanding of the issue of cross-border residential transaction markets. While the first two essays focus specifically on transaction processes and costs in a number of selected countries, the two subsequent essays shift their attention towards the EU’s Internal Market and the impact of differences between the countries, with relation to the transparency of transaction markets. The research is primary based on studies of written sources, subject-specific literature and legislation. The main message is that organization of the transaction process affects transaction costs in different ways. It can be argued that efficiency is associated with a lowering of transaction costs. The efficiency of different structures depends on our perspective. Transparency is associated with the organisation of transactions and their needs, though the term is somewhat unclear. Generally, the term may refer to the ability of transaction participants to observe information concerning the transacting process, thereby increasing their knowledge to make informed decisions. Thus it can be argued that a better basis for the decision-making process presupposes information disclosure, more standardized transaction practices, synchronized legal systems, and both legible and transparent regulations. This leads to the design of a transparency system, which is based on an understanding of the need for the system and its goal. Although reaching transparency will be both complex and time-consuming, this study draws attention to certain key aspect of the need to encourage transparency. The first two essays focus on how residential transactions are organized in selected countries and on the costs for carrying out these transactions. Essay II works with two hypotheses concerning the relation between the organizational structure and the transaction costs. The study shows that transaction processes and costs differ considerably between the countries and as a result it is difficult to arrange the countries in a clear way according to their rules. Moreover, there is no clear connection between a broker’s education level and how large a part in the process s/he plays. The total transaction costs excluding taxes vary from approximately 3 up to 8.5 percent. The costs are lower when the recording system is well arranged, when a broker has a bigger part in the process and when a conveyancer is impartial. In the countries where a broker has a higher education level and plays bigger part in the process, the broker’s commission is not any higher when compared to other countries in the study. The study shows also that transaction costs are lower in the countries where the broker has a more neutral role and where fewer parties are involved in the process. Thus in order to avoid high transaction costs, it is important to avoid situations where both buyer and seller have their own agents. Furthermore, the availability of standardized information about properties may increase the efficiency of the market even though it increases the short run transaction cost. Essay III provides a theoretical framework for an analysis of the concept of transparency in residential property transactions within the EU’s internal market and tries to identify the essential factors that need to be addressed with respect to transparency of procedural, regulative and economic features. Essay IV seeks a further understanding of the issue of transparency in the residential property transaction market and attempts to define the state of transparency on the basis of selected EU-countries, in accord with five specific dimensions. The essential points are that an increase in cross-border transactions increases demand for easy access to information in other countries, and that the studied literature focuses on the coordination of legal systems, which produces systems that are more uniform and legally secured, and on broadening the mortgage market. Some of the aspects analysed in the study are far from transparent while others may be considered relatively transparent. The degree of transparency in the EU’s internal market is determined by how transparency is defined, since something may be transparent based on a certain criteria but not on others, especially when the concept is a relative one and subject to changes. The study raises some key aspect as a basis for discussion about the encouragement of transparency. / QC 20111123

This thesis is an exploratory qualitative study aiming at exploring and advancing the current knowledge of the Swedish PropTech industry. In this study, the investigations will mainly focus on how the Swedish PropTech companies improve the liquidity, for instance, higher supply, lower transaction costs and more accessible access, in the property transaction process. Besides, the impacts of Covid-19 on these companies and the challenges and opportunities they foresee in the post-covid situation will be investigated. To answer the research questions, first of all, five semi-structured interviews with the experts from the Swedish PropTech industry were held to gather their insights into the unique functionalities facilitated by PropTech in the property transaction process. Besides, the method of reviewing industry reports was applied to complement the findings from the interviews. To measure liquidity in the market, five main categories of measurement metrics, including (1) transaction costs, (2) volume-based measures, (3) price impact, (4) time-based measures, and (5) return-based measures, are considered. After that, the collected data material was compared and analysed by means of thematic analysis with the support of the query tool “NVivo” to explore the answers to the research questions “how do the Swedish PropTech companies facilitate liquidity in the property transaction process”, “what are the impacts of Covid-19 on these companies, and what challenges and opportunities do they foresee in the future” and “what is the future of the PropTech industry”. Lastly, by building a novel tool, this thesis could contribute to the research field of PropTech and give more instructions to the Swedish real estate market when adapting to innovations in the real estate industry. / Detta examensarbete är en undersökande kvalitativ studie som syftar till att utforska och föra fram den nuvarande kunskapen om den svenska PropTech-branschen. I denna studie kommer utredningarna främst att fokusera på hur de svenska PropTech-bolagen förbättrar likviditeten, till exempel högre utbud, lägre transaktionskostnader och mer tillgänglig tillgång, i fastighetstransaktionsprocessen. Dessutom kommer effekterna av Covid-19 på dessa företag och de utmaningar och möjligheter de förutser i post-covid-situationen att undersökas. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna hölls först och främst fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med experterna från den svenska PropTech-branschen för att samla in deras insikter om de unika funktioner som PropTech underlättar i fastighetstransaktionsprocessen. Dessutom användes metoden för granskning av branschrapporter för att komplettera resultaten från intervjuerna. För att mäta likviditet på marknaden, fem huvudkategorier av mätvärden, inklusive (1) transaktionskostnader, (2) volymbaserade mått, (3) prispåverkan, (4) tidsbaserade mått och (5) avkastningsbaserade mått. åtgärder, övervägs. Därefter jämfördes och analyserades det insamlade datamaterialet med hjälp av tematisk analys med stöd av frågeverktyget “NVivo” för att utforska svaren på forskningsfrågorna “hur underlättar de svenska PropTech-bolagen likviditeten i fastighetstransaktionsprocessen”, “vad är effekterna av Covid-19 på dessa företag, och vilka utmaningar och möjligheter förutser de i framtiden” och “vad är framtiden för PropTech-branschen”. Slutligen, genom att bygga ett nytt verktyg, skulle detta examensarbete kunna bidra till forskningsområdet PropTech och ge fler instruktioner till den svenska fastighetsmarknaden vid anpassning till innovationer inom fastighetsbranschen.

This work aims at advancing the scientific understanding of the real property processes stimulating the Belarusian property market specifically in order to promote its development. For a property market to operate efficiently, real properties ought to be able to be smoothly created and securely transferred with the aid of real property processes. These processes, after being implemented, generate transaction costs for a society, while the ways by which they are arranged can increase or decrease such costs. This research applies institutions as a theoretical ground with the transaction costs theory as a core concept for the examination of the selected property processes, resulting in a body of new knowledge on the relations between institutions, property processes and transaction costs. This study specifically investigates property formation and purchase processes in Slovenia, Sweden and Belarus through an ontological modelling supported by their descriptions. It additionally explores the content of property rights along with the existing real property legislation of the selected countries, as such are recognised as components influencing real property processes. Consequently, general descriptions of the land tenure systems of these three countries and a classification of fundamental property rights are presented. The examined property processes are compared in order to identify differences and thereby generally enrich the theoretical knowledge in the land administration domain. This comparison is based on the transaction costs generated by the specific real property processes and relatively estimated by this research with a focus on the stakeholders involved, their functions and interactions. This study places its main emphasis on property formation and property purchase processes in Belarus, while corresponding property processes of selected European countries are taken as benchmarks for new approaches. This research results in proposing simplified property processes for Belarus that may sensibly be established with the long-term aim of facilitating the functioning of the national property market and thereby economising as to transaction costs. In conclusion, the property market of Belarus would benefit from a simplification of the real property processes by utilising international practices while, however, not disregarding national peculiarities. / QC 20120525

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