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This paper aims to investigate the likelihood and price effects of auction hijacking – transactions conducted before a planned auction – in the residential real estate market.

Using a sample of 84,203 residential properties in Oslo, Norway for the period 2007–2017, the authors employ a probit sales choice model to study the likelihood of auction hijacking and hedonic models, fixed effects models and propensity score matching to investigate the price effects.

The authors find that auction hijacking is more likely to occur in periods of higher market activity and that hijacked auction properties sell at a premium of approximately 4% compared with properties sold at regularly conducted auctions. One possible explanation for the premium could be that risk aversion among buyers leads to a higher likelihood of hijacking offers and higher prices due to the risk reduction premium that sellers can extract.

For most households, buying a home is an investment of great economic significance, and understanding the different aspects of the auction is paramount for both buyers and sellers. Policymakers need to be aware of the market effects from auction hijacking and determine whether restrictions should be introduced.

This paper aims to study aggressive bidding strategies in real estate auctions – a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach.

The authors use two data sets to study aggressive bidding strategies. First, the results from a survey with 1,803 participants examining real estate auctions are used to identify bidding strategies and related motivations. Second, the authors apply SEM by using data from 1,078 exclusive auction journals from real estate sales in Norway to study both the direct and indirect price effects of the bidding strategies.

The authors define four aggressive bidding strategies: high opening bid, high bid increase (jump bids), short acceptance deadline and short response time. The authors find that all four strategies yield a higher sales price. Bidders can actively influence the behaviour of the other participants and cool the potential auction fever, thus reducing the final price premium.

This paper gives households, investors and policymakers a better understanding of how bidding strategies affect real estate auctions and the final price.

In periods of economic distress, expectations for businesses change and there is a heightened need for reporting quality. This study investigates the impact of crises on earnings management in the real estate sector.

The data consisted of financial statements from 2005 to 2021 from real estate firms listed on 10 European stock exchanges. Estimated discretionary accruals from four standard accruals models were used as a proxy for earnings management, using cross-sectional industry and firm fixed effects models. The authors examined earnings management during three crises: the financial crisis (2008–2009), the debt crisis (2011–2012) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021).

The results showed less earnings management during the COVID-19 crisis and more earnings management during the financial crisis, though with slightly weaker evidence. The authors did not find significant evidence of earnings management related to the debt crisis. These results suggest that stakeholders in the real estate sector should be extra vigilant in crisis periods.

This study is the first to investigate earnings management in European real estate firms, focusing on the impact of crises.

The purpose of this paper is to review the design and fabrication of a micro‐accelerometer to be used to measure the heart wall motion of patients who have just undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The sensor will provide a means of early warning for the medical staff of associated complications with this surgery occurring.

A feasibility paper is carried out with the use of commercially available MEMS three‐axis accelerometers. The sensors are used in animal studies during which the sensor is stitched directly to the surface of a pig's heart. A need for smaller sensors is required and these are designed in‐house and fabricated using a MEMS process. The final dimensions of the sensors are 2.5×3.5×1.4 mm in width, length and height, respectively.

The results of the feasibility studies demonstrate the viability of this type of sensor for heart wall motion measurement. It is possible to detect abnormalities, which can indicate complications associated with CABG. The sensors presented here are fabricated within the tight overall size specifications deemed necessary for this application.

This paper demonstrates an application of MEMS for implantable medical sensors.

In the UK, approximately 300,000 people have a heart attack each year. One of the most common surgeries that is used to treat this is CABG. This sensor is to be used by the medical staff in post‐surgery to provide “real‐time” monitoring of the heart and give early warning of regional cardiac ischemia which can save lives and reduce hospital waiting times and costs.

This paper demonstrates an original way of measuring heart wall motion. Results from the feasibility studies have proven that this can provide an invaluable way of providing early warning of complications after heart surgery.