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The financialization of housing and the growth of the private rental sector in Ireland, the UK and Spain

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  • Michael Byrne

    (School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin.)

Abstract

Across numerous jurisdictions, a growing share of households are living in the private rental sector. What is most puzzling about this development is that several decades in which government and market forces coalesced around the promotion of homeownership appear to have undermined access to homeownership and triggered a resurgence of renting. This paper analyses these developments through three case studies: Ireland, the UK and Spain. The article argues that financialization intensifies the cyclical dynamics of housing markets in a manner which tends to undermine homeownership over the medium term. Although the paper identifies this common trend across the three case study countries, this must be nuanced with an analysis of the ways in which national housing policy regimes have shaped this trend such that it manifests in different ways. The paper contributes to our understanding of the drivers and implications of the decline in homeownership and the growth of ‘generation rent’.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Byrne, 2019. "The financialization of housing and the growth of the private rental sector in Ireland, the UK and Spain," Working Papers 201902, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201902
    as

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    File URL: http://www.ucd.ie/geary/static/publications/workingpapers/gearywp201902.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michelle Norris & Michael Byrne, 2015. "Asset Price Keynesianism, Regional Imbalances and the Irish and Spanish Housing Booms and Busts," Working Papers 201514, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    2. Richard Waldron & Declan Redmond, 2014. "The Extent of the Mortgage Crisis in Ireland and Policy Responses," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 149-165, January.
    3. McQuinn, Kieran, 2017. "Irish house prices: Déjà vu all over again?," Quarterly Economic Commentary: Special Articles, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    4. Peter A. Kemp, 2015. "Private Renting After the Global Financial Crisis," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 601-620, July.
    5. Michael Byrne, 2016. "‘Asset Price Urbanism’ and Financialization after the Crisis: Ireland's National Asset Management Agency," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 31-45, January.
    6. Michael Byrne & Michelle Norris, 2018. "Procyclical Social Housing and the Crisis of Irish Housing Policy: Marketization, Social Housing, and the Property Boom and Bust," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 50-63, January.
    7. Ray Forrest & Yosuke Hirayama, 2015. "The financialisation of the social project: Embedded liberalism, neoliberalism and home ownership," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(2), pages 233-244, February.
    8. Gertjan Wijburg & Manuel B. Aalbers, 2017. "The alternative financialization of the German housing market," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(7), pages 968-989, October.
    9. Dan Immergluck, 2011. "The Local Wreckage of Global Capital: The Subprime Crisis, Federal Policy and High‐Foreclosure Neighborhoods in the US," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 130-146, January.
    10. Jaime Palomera, 2014. "How Did Finance Capital Infiltrate the World of the Urban Poor? Homeownership and Social Fragmentation in a Spanish Neighborhood," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 218-235, January.
    11. Michelle Norris & Dermot Coates, 2014. "How housing killed the Celtic tiger: anatomy and consequences of Ireland's housing boom and bust," Open Access publications 10197/5639, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    12. Desiree Fields & Sabina Uffer, 2016. "The financialisation of rental housing: A comparative analysis of New York City and Berlin," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(7), pages 1486-1502, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Adam Goldstein & Ziyao Tian, 2020. "Financialization and Income Generation in the 21st Century: Rise of the Petit Rentier Class?," LIS Working papers 801, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.

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