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The dynamics of homeownership among the 50+ in Europe

Author

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  • Viola Angelini
  • Agar Brugiavini
  • Guglielmo Weber

Abstract

We use life history data covering households in 13 European countries to analyse residential moves past the age of 50. We observe four types of moves: renting to owning, owning to renting, trading up or trading down for homeowners. We find that in the younger group (aged 50–64), trading up and purchase decisions prevail; in the older group (65+), trading down and selling are more common. Overall, moves are rare, particularly in countries characterised by high transaction costs. Most moves are driven by changes in household composition (divorce, widowhood, nest leaving by children), but economic factors play a role: low-income households who are house-rich and cash-poor are more likely to sell their home late in life. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Viola Angelini & Agar Brugiavini & Guglielmo Weber, 2014. "The dynamics of homeownership among the 50+ in Europe," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 797-823, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:27:y:2014:i:3:p:797-823
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-013-0477-5
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    7. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Mitrou, Francis & Zubrick, Stephen R., 2024. "Retirement, housing mobility, downsizing and neighbourhood quality - A causal investigation," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Fehr, Hans & Hofmann, Maurice, 2020. "Tenure choice, portfolio structure and long-term care – Optimal risk management in retirement," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    9. Daniele Vignoli & Maria Letizia Tanturri & Francesco Acciai, 2014. "Home Bitter Home? Gender, Living Arrangements, and the Exclusion from Home-Ownership among Older Europeans," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2014_05, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
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    13. Doron Shiffer-Sebba & Hyunjoon Park, 2021. "US baby boomers’ homeownership trajectories across the life course: A Sequence Analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(43), pages 1057-1072.
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    16. Zhao, Qinglei & Jiang, Guanghui & Yang, Yuting & Tian, Yingying & Fan, Lihui & Zhou, Tao & Tian, Yaya, 2022. "Multifunction change of rural housing land in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of farmer households’ land-use behavior," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    17. Evren Ceritoglu, 2017. "Disentangling Age and Cohorts Effects on Home-Ownership and Housing Wealth in Turkey," Working Papers 1706, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
    18. Costin CIORA, 2015. "Housing affordability in Romania. Towards quantifying the trends," Romanian Journal of Economics, Institute of National Economy, vol. 40(1(49)), pages 126-137, june.
    19. Agnese Romiti & Mariacristina Rossi, 2014. "Wealth decumulation, portfolio composition and financial literacy among European elderly," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 375, Collegio Carlo Alberto.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing; Life cycle; Ageing; SHARELIFE; D91; E21; J14;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D19 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Other
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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