Intermediary investors and professional speculating in Mashhad housing market: A Sociological Analysis of Economic phenomenon

This study explores the agents' lived experience and their perception of the Intermediary investors in the housing market. This study is qualitative in research nature, exploratory in approach, applied in purpose and cross-sectional in time. Accordingly employing Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory approach, deep interviews with 20 of active people in the housing market in Mashhad was done. After coding scripts 228 sub-categories were obtained. After several coding steps, 17 core categories were identified. Finally, based on selective coding, the central phenomenon was called "Intermediary investors as professional speculator ". The results of the research showed that the central identified idea is affected by the set of contextual conditions include "the improvement of middlemen in metropolitan life", "Variety of land ownership and housing patterns in the metropolis of Mashhad", "The pattern of welfare policy in Iran" and "Historical changes in investment in Iran". Intervenes conditions include "An intermediary investor as an informed actor", "Awareness of rival markets", and "Occupation and age conditions". The causal conditions include "Density and multiplicity of experience", "Have enough capital", "Favorable personality features". The social actors (Intermediary investors), taking strategies such as "Collusion with the real estate agency", "Temporary role replacement", "Suspension presence" and "Double presence"; which lead to consequences such as "Dependence on market flows", "Flexible position in the market", "Conflict with a Social status challenge" and "Maximum profitability".