IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jhouse/v47y2020ics1051137717302358.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of parental financial assistance in the transition to homeownership by young adults

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Hyojung
  • Myers, Dowell
  • Painter, Gary
  • Thunell, Johanna
  • Zissimopoulos, Julie

Abstract

This study examines the role of direct parental assistance in their adult children's home buying, net of other resources. Past research has cited the importance of down payment constraints, but often has not included data on parental wealth and direct transfers. Using both the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) and Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we first confirm other research that children whose parents have more resources are more likely to buy homes themselves. In addition, we find that financial transfers increase the probability of home buying among adult children, net of parental wealth and other characteristics of parents and children. Results from the HRS suggest that receiving a transfer greater than $5000 for any purpose increases the probability of transitioning to homeownership by 15.1%. Results from the PSID suggest that this effect was magnified after the recession.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Hyojung & Myers, Dowell & Painter, Gary & Thunell, Johanna & Zissimopoulos, Julie, 2020. "The role of parental financial assistance in the transition to homeownership by young adults," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:47:y:2020:i:c:s1051137717302358
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2018.08.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051137717302358
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jhe.2018.08.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gyourko, Joseph & Linneman, Peter, 1996. "Analysis of the Changing Influences on Traditional Households' Ownership Patterns," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 318-341, May.
    2. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Mayer, Christopher J., 1998. "Intergenerational Transfers, Borrowing Constraints, and Saving Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 135-157, July.
    3. Philip Oreopoulos & Marianne E. Page, 2006. "The Intergenerational Effects of Compulsory Schooling," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(4), pages 729-760, October.
    4. Michael D. Hurd & James P. Smith & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2007. "Inter-vivos Giving Over the Lifecycle," Working Papers WR-524, RAND Corporation.
    5. William G. Gale & John Karl Scholz, 1994. "Intergenerational Transfers and the Accumulation of Wealth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 145-160, Fall.
    6. Donald Cox, 1990. "Intergenerational Transfers and Liquidity Constraints," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 105(1), pages 187-217.
    7. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst, 2002. "The Transition To Home Ownership And The Black-White Wealth Gap," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 281-297, May.
    8. David M. Cutler & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2006. "Education and Health: Evaluating Theories and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 12352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Taubman, Paul, 1989. "Role of Parental Income in Educational Attainment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 57-61, May.
    10. Munnell, Alicia H. & Geoffrey M. B. Tootell & Lynn E. Browne & James McEneaney, 1996. "Mortgage Lending in Boston: Interpreting HMDA Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 25-53, March.
    11. John F. Kain & John M. Quigley, 1975. "Housing Markets and Racial Discrimination: A Microeconomic Analysis," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kain75-1, March.
    12. Engelhardt, Gary V, 1996. "Consumption, Down Payments, and Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 28(2), pages 255-271, May.
    13. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2005. "Why the Apple Doesn't Fall Far: Understanding Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 437-449, March.
    14. Guiso, Luigi & Jappelli, Tullio, 2002. "Private Transfers, Borrowing Constraints and the Timing of Homeownership," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(2), pages 315-339, May.
    15. Coulson, N. Edward, 1999. "Why Are Hispanic- and Asian-American Homeownership Rates So Low?: Immigration and Other Factors," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 209-227, March.
    16. George Galster & Dave E. Marcotte & Marvin B. Mandell & Hal Wolman & Nancy Augustine, 2007. "The impact of parental homeownership on children's outcomes during early adulthood," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 785-827, January.
    17. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Liu, Yingchun, 2008. "Explaining the black-white homeownership gap: The role of own wealth, parental externalities and locational preferences," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 152-174, June.
    18. Dawkins, Casey J., 2005. "Racial gaps in the transition to first-time homeownership: The role of residential location," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 537-554, November.
    19. Tullio Jappelli, 1990. "Who is Credit Constrained in the U. S. Economy?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(1), pages 219-234.
    20. Seymour Spilerman & Francois-Charles Wolff, 2012. "Parental wealth and resource transfers: How they matter in France for home ownership and living standards," Post-Print hal-03914532, HAL.
    21. Michael Hurd & James P. Smith & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2007. "Inter-vivos Giving Over the Lifecycle," Working Papers 524, RAND Corporation.
    22. Melek Cigdem & Stephen Whelan, 2017. "Intergenerational transfers and housing tenure – Australian evidence," European Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 227-248, April.
    23. John F. Kain & John M. Quigley, 1975. "Introduction to "Housing Markets and Racial Discrimination: A Microeconomic Analysis"," NBER Chapters, in: Housing Markets and Racial Discrimination: A Microeconomic Analysis, pages 1-8, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Kathleen McGarry & Robert F. Schoeni, 1995. "Transfer Behavior in the Health and Retirement Study: Measurement and the Redistribution of Resources within the Family," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30, pages 184-226.
    25. Artle, Roland & Varaiya, Pravin, 1978. "Life cycle consumption and homeownership," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 38-58, June.
    26. Samuel Dodini & Jeff Larrimore & Jenny Schuetz, 2016. "What are the Perceived Barriers to Homeownership for Young Adults?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-021, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    27. Richard Blundell & Lorraine Dearden & Barbara Sianesi, 2005. "Evaluating the effect of education on earnings: models, methods and results from the National Child Development Survey," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 168(3), pages 473-512, July.
    28. Painter, Gary & Gabriel, Stuart & Myers, Dowell, 2001. "Race, Immigrant Status, and Housing Tenure Choice," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 150-167, January.
    29. Keane, Michael P & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 2001. "The Effect of Parental Transfers and Borrowing Constraints on Educational Attainment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 42(4), pages 1051-1103, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuxi Yao, 2023. "Accounting for the decline in homeownership among the young," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(1), pages 79-102, January.
    2. Kudlyak, Marianna & Benetton, Matteo & ,, 2022. "Dynastic Home Equity," CEPR Discussion Papers 17464, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Thomas Y. Mathä & Giuseppe Pulina & Michael Ziegelmeyer, 2023. "Do Private Wealth Transfers Help With Homeownership? A First Assessment for Luxembourg," BCL working papers 174, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    4. Shaun A. Bond & Michael D. Eriksen, 2021. "The role of parents on the home ownership experience of their children: Evidence from the health and retirement study," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(2), pages 433-458, June.
    5. Bee Boileau & David Sturrock, 2023. "What drives the timing of inter-vivos transfers?," IFS Working Papers W23/09, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    6. Marek Bryx & Janusz Sobieraj & Dominik Metelski & Izabela Rudzka, 2021. "Buying vs. Renting a Home in View of Young Adults in Poland," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-31, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shaun A. Bond & Michael D. Eriksen, 2021. "The role of parents on the home ownership experience of their children: Evidence from the health and retirement study," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(2), pages 433-458, June.
    2. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Liu, Yingchun, 2008. "Explaining the black-white homeownership gap: The role of own wealth, parental externalities and locational preferences," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 152-174, June.
    3. Donald Cox & Oded Stark, 2007. "On the Demand for Grandchildren: Tied Transfers and the Demonstration Effect," Chapters, in: Luigino Bruni & Pier Luigi Porta (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Happiness, chapter 18, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Julie Zissimopoulos & Johanna Thunell & Stipica Mudrazija, 2020. "Parental Income and Wealth Loss and Transfers to Their Young Adult Children," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 316-331, June.
    5. Lin, Zhenguo & Liu, Yingchun & Xie, Jia, 2021. "Banking deregulation and homeownership," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    6. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Mayer, Christopher J., 1998. "Intergenerational Transfers, Borrowing Constraints, and Saving Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 135-157, July.
    7. Laurent Gobillon & Matthieu Solignac, 2020. "Homeownership of immigrants in France: selection effects related to international migration flows [A nation of immigrants: assimilation and economic outcomes in the age of mass migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 355-396.
    8. Zorlu, Aslan & Mulder, Clara H. & van Gaalen, Ruben, 2014. "Ethnic disparities in the transition to home ownership," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 151-163.
    9. Rebbeca Tesfai, 2017. "Continued Success or Caught in the Housing Bubble? Black Immigrants and the Housing Market Crash," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 36(4), pages 531-560, August.
    10. Chunhui Ren, 2020. "A Framework for Explaining Black-White Inequality in Homeownership Sustainability," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1297-1321, August.
    11. Gabriel, Stuart A. & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2005. "Homeownership in the 1980s and 1990s: aggregate trends and racial gaps," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 101-127, January.
    12. Deng, Yongheng & Ross, Stephen L. & Wachter, Susan M., 2003. "Racial differences in homeownership: the effect of residential location," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 517-556, September.
    13. Yukutake, Norifumi & Iwata, Shinichiro & Idee, Takako, 2015. "Strategic interaction between inter vivos gifts and housing acquisition," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 62-77.
    14. James Conklin & Kristopher Gerardi & Lauren Lambie-Hanson, 2022. "Can Everyone Tap Into the Housing Piggy Bank? Racial Disparities in Access to Home Equity," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2022-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    15. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    16. Yue Li & Mauro Mastrogiacomo, 2022. "Mortgage prepayments and tax-exempted intergenerational transfers: from rich parents to rich children?," Working Papers 751, DNB.
    17. Peter Lindner & Thomas Y. Mathä & Giuseppe Pulina & Michael Ziegelmeyer, 2020. "Borrowing constraints, own labour and homeownership: Does it pay to paint your walls?," BCL working papers 148, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    18. Ha, Sejeong & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2021. "Do long-distance moves discourage homeownership? Evidence from England," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    19. Patrick Bayer & Marcus D. Casey & Fernando Ferreira & Robert McMillan, 2012. "Estimating Racial Price Differentials in the Housing Market," NBER Working Papers 18069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Steven J. Haider & Kathleen McGarry, 2018. "Parental Investments in College and Later Cash Transfers," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(5), pages 1705-1725, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:47:y:2020:i:c:s1051137717302358. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622881 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.