Decision-making biases in property investments in Prishtina, Kosovo

Purpose The overall purpose of the study is to identify the impact of heuristics, prospect theory biases and personality traits on property investment decision-making of rank and file individuals in Kosovo, with a concentration in Prishtina, which is the city with the largest number of investors and property transactions in Kosovo. Design/methodology/approach The present study used quantitative research with the questionnaire used as a research instrument. The questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,209 rank and file property investors in Prishtina, Kosovo. The sampling method used in this research was stratified random sampling. Findings The study finds that heuristics, prospect theory biases and personality traits as a whole model affect investment decision-making in Prishtina, Kosovo. Nevertheless, the study finds that not all dimensions of the constructed research model (heuristics, the prospect theory and personality) affect the property investment decision-making in Prishtina at the same level. Whereas prospect theory biases (regret aversion, framing and self-control) seem to very strongly influence property investment decision-making of rank and file investors in Prishtina, personality traits (conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to new experiences) seem not to affect the real estate investment decision-making. Finally, heuristics biases also strongly influence the real estate investment decision-making with a strong statistically significant explanatory power but not to the same degree as prospect theory biases. Practical implications The present study contributes toward the understanding of the role that is played by heuristics, prospect theory biases and personality traits in Kosovo's property investment industry. More importantly, the implication of the results of the present study is that it goes some way toward enhancing understanding of heuristic and prospect theory-driven biases and their influence on property investment decision-making in a developing economy. The present study paves the way to further analyze why personality traits do not influence property investment decision-making in Kosovo. Originality/value The present study is the first quantification of the impact of heuristics, prospect theory biases and personality traits on the investment decision-making of rank and file individuals in Prishtina, Kosovo.