Comparative analysis of real estate-based identification strategies for heirs’ property

Researchers have struggled to identify heirs’ property (HP) via the use of real estate records for years. This paper evaluates seven distinct methodological approaches to identify HP using CoreLogic’s national property database. We find minimal convergence among these algorithms, with different methods flagging largely non-overlapping sets of properties. Certain approaches show promise – particularly in identifying properties with characteristics consistent with documented HP patterns. The lack of agreement across methods, however, makes estimating the prevalence of HP difficult. Several paths exist forward to identify HP such as adding extra property characteristics into existing algorithms, developing more sophisticated algorithms, and establishing protocols for cross-jurisdictional validation.