Timing in Asset Markets

Seasonality is a well-established phenomenon across a range of asset markets, including equities, commodities, and real estate. Although prominent attention has focused on equities, recent work highlights that liquidity cycles and strategic behavior are important across broader asset classes. This review surveys both classic and more recent contributions, emphasizing that liquidity fluctuations, search frictions, and bargaining dynamics jointly drive seasonal asset market patterns. In particular, we discuss how recent models incorporating heterogeneous agents and market imperfections naturally account for observed seasonality.