Xiaoyu Zhang, CV Mar, 2019

Xiaoyu ZHANG
CONTACT
Department of Real Estate Last updated: May 2019
National University of Singapore Email: E0001413@u.nus.edu
4 Architecture Drive, Singapore, 117566 Mobile number: (+65) 90374169

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Citizenship: China
Birth: Oct. 1993
EDUCATION AND AWARDS
Aug. 2015 National University of Singapore Singapore
to Jul. 2020 Ph.D. in Real Estate, Supervisor: Associate Professor Tien Foo Sing
(Expected)
Thesis Title: Information flow and market efficiency: Evidence from the real estate market
Sep.2010 Central University of Finance and Economics Beijing,
to Sep. 2014 B. Sc in Management (First Class Honor) China

• Recommended as Master candidate without exam in CUFE

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Applied Microeconomics
• Land Market and Housing Market
• Real Estate Finance and Investment
• Corporate Investment

WORKING PAPERS
1. “Golfing for information: Informal interactions and economic consequences” with Sumit Agarwal, Yu Qin and Tien Foo
Sing (Presented at SFS Cavalcade AP 2018, SMU Conference on Urban and Regional Economics 2018 and ARUEUA-
ASSA 2019)
2. “The political economy of public housing upgrading programs” with Sumit Agarwal, Mi Diao, Tien Foo Sing
3. “Risk aversion and urban land development options” with Gang-Zhi Fan, Ming Pu and Tien Foo Sing (Presented at Asian
Real Estate Society Conference 2018)

WORK IN PROGRESS
1. “Bunching in government land sale and corporate earning management”
2. “Minority group riot, liquor ban and real estate market reactions” with Yunqi Zhang

INVITED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

1. Jan. 2019, ARUEUA-ASSA Conference, Atlanta (Poster presenter)
2. Dec. 2018, SFS Cavalcade AP 2018, Singapore (Paper presenter)
3. Dec. 2018, SMU Conference on Urban and Regional Economics, Singapore (Paper presenter)
4. Jul. 2018, Asian Real Estate Society Conference 2018, Incheon (Presentation & Discussion)
5. Jul. 2018, Global Chinese Real Estate Conference 2018, Qingdao (Presentation & Discussion)

RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
1. “The policy analysis of Chongqing property tax pilot: A study based on the S-CAD approach.” With Wang Zhifeng and
Xie Na. ICPA Conference Proceedings (2014).

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Xiaoyu Zhang, CV Mar, 2019
2. “Public housing finance based on REITs” Communication of Finance and Accounting (2013) (In Chinese)
3. “The exit rule of public rental housing” Chinese Housing With Chen Junhua (2013) (In Chinese)

TEACHING
1. 2017 Semester 1, Teaching Assistant (Instructor of Tutorial Classes), Property Tax and Real Estate Appraisals (RE 2107),
National University of Singapore,
2. 2016 Semester 1, Teaching Assistant (Instructor of Tutorial Classes), Foundations of Real Estate Appraisal (GEM2000),
National University of Singapore
3. 2015 Semester 1, Teaching Assistant, Real estate economics (RE2102), National University of Singapore

MEDIA
1. “Aging and decaying leases of residential properties” with Sumit Agarwal and Tien Foo Sing, NUS Press Release, Feb.
13th, 2019
2. “Prices of older HDB flats fall slower compared to private homes: Study” with Sumit Agarwal and Tien Foo Sing, Today,
Feb. 13th, 2019
3. “HDB flats above 30 years depreciate less than private non-landed housing: NUS study” with Sumit Agarwal and Tien Foo
Sing, Channel News Asia, Feb. 13th, 2019
4. “Old HDB flats weather depreciation better than condos: NUS study” with Sumit Agarwal and Tien Foo Sing, Singapore
Business Review, Feb. 13th, 2019
5. “HDB flats depreciate better than private property after 30 years: study” with Sumit Agarwal and Tien Foo Sing, Money
FM 89.3, Feb. 13th, 2019
6. “NUS study: HDB resale prices depreciate less than private freehold properties after 30 years” with Sumit Agarwal and
Tien Foo Sing, Mothership, Feb. 14th, 2019

AWARDS AND HONORS

1. Aug. 2015 to Aug. 2019: Research Scholarship (SGD 2500/month, National University of Singapore)
2. Sep. 2014: Excellent Freshman (RMB 8000, Central University of Finances and Economics)
3. Sep. 2014: First Class Honor Scholarship (RMB 1200, Central University of Finances and Economics)
4. Jun. 2014: Outstanding Graduates Awards (Central University of Finances and Economics)
5. Sep. 2013: Second Class Honor Scholarship (CNY RMB, at Central University of Finances and Economics)
6. Mar. 2013: Academic and Research Elite Scholarship (RMB 3000, Central University of Finances and Economics)
7. Sep. 2012: First Class Honor Scholarship (RMB 1200, 2014, Central University of Finances and Economics)
8. Sep. 2011: Second Class Honor Scholarship (CNY RMB, at Central University of Finances and Economics)

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Apr. 2019 Research Assistant for Professor Sumit Agarwal and Assistant Professor Song Changcheng
till now • Predicting house price with machine learning method
Feb. 2016 Research Assistant for Assistant Professor Cristian Badarinza
to Apr. 2016
• Predicting credit card default with machine learning method
Feb. 2014 Project supported by the special foundation of MST: the efficiency evaluation of
to Nov. Intelligent property management (Grant Number: 2012IM040400, PI: Zhifeng Wang)
2014
• Evaluating the intelligent property management efficiency of Chinese enterprises with a fuzzy
comprehensive evaluation model
Oct. 2013 Project of the MLR soft science research plans: The pilot property tax project in
to Feb.2014 Shanghai: based on S-CAD Approach (Grant Number: 201320-2, PI: Zhifeng Wang)
• Evaluating the property tax project with S-CAD approach

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Xiaoyu Zhang, CV Mar, 2019

SKILLS
• Language: English (fluent) and Chinese Mandarin (native);
• Computer: Stata, Python, ArcGIS, MS Access, RATS, R, AutoCAD and Microsoft Office (PowerPoint/Excel/Word)

ABSTRACT OF SELECTED WORKING PAPERS

Golfing for information: Informal interactions and economic consequences (Job Market Paper)
Abstract: This paper studies how company directors acquire information through informal interactions at golf courses
to subsequently acquire land parcels at lower prices. Developers play golf together more often after the government
makes a land sale announcement. The winning bids are 14% lower after interacting with other corporate directors, and
the lower land prices allow the developers to sell new units 8% cheaper. However, the lower land prices by informed
bidders generate negative spillovers on neighboring properties. Our results imply that the informal interactions enable
developers to realize higher profits, while the government loses the land sale revenues.
Keywords: Information efficiency, Informal social interaction, Winners’ curse, Land auctions, Corporate investment
The political economy of public housing upgrading programs: Evidence from Singapore
Abstract: The paper examines the political business cycle in the provision of public good in Singapore. Using a merged dataset
containing data on public housing upgrading, resale public housing transactions, electoral boundary and election results from
2000 to 2018, we find evidence that the public housing programs were intensified in the ruling party-run constituencies one
quarter before the General Elections with a Regression Discontinuity Design. By comparing the price of public housing units
along the electoral boundary, we find the upgrading program have more positive effect on price of units in the ruling party-run
constituencies, which indicates that the upgrading program is more efficient in these constituencies. The depreciation rate of
public houses in the ruling party-run constituencies are lower than that in the opposition party-run constituencies. The number of
new businesses started by the supporting constituency households who were offered the upgrading opportunity increase, and we
do not reject the home equity mechanism. We could not rule out the political links of estate management issues through local
authorities to housing price differences. This is the first paper to reveal the changes in public good provision with both cross-
sectional variations and intertemporal changes in government incentives.
Keywords: Political economy, Political business cycles, Public housing upgrading program, Public housing market in
Singapore
Risk aversion and urban land development options
Abstract: This study examines the possible implications for real options models if developers are risk averse when exercising
development options. In our empirical tests using data on first-price auctions of state lands in Singapore, we found evidence of
risk aversion among developers. We also identified the two channels through which market volatility changes the option
premium. The first channel is direct effect as predicted by standard real option model. The second channel is by changing the
risk attitude. After a big volatility shock hits the market, developers become more risk averse and bid less in land auctions. Our
empirical results show that the developers mitigate risks by exercising their development options earlier in the process, as
confirmed in Henderson (2007); thus, the risk neutrality assumption is not suitable at least after big events happen to the market.
According to our best knowledge, this is the first paper to confirm this argument empirically.
Keywords: Optimal development timing, Investment threshold, Real option value, Risk-aversion, Markov-switching ARCH,
Urban land development