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The dynamics of homeownership among the 50+ in Europe

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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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    3. Mirco Tonin & Michael Vlassopoulos, 2015. "Are public sector workers different? Cross-European evidence from elderly workers and retirees," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. 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).
    5. 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".
    6. Florian Bartsch & Florian Buhlmann & Karolin Kirschenmann & Carolin Schmidt, 2021. "Is There a Need for Reverse Mortgages in Germany? Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications," EconPol Policy Reports 31, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    7. Christian Dudel & Julian Schmied, 2019. "Pension adequacy standards: an empirical estimation strategy and results for the United States and Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2019-003, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Zuzana Žilinčíková & Christine Schnor, 2021. "Who moves out and who keeps the home? Short-term and medium-term mobility consequences of grey divorce in Belgium," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(9), pages 291-328.
    9. Bütler, Monika & Stadelmann, Sabrina, 2020. "Building on a pension: Second pillar wealth as a way to finance real estate?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    10. Sabina Źróbek & Elżbieta Zysk & Mirosław Bełej & Natalija Lepkova, 2020. "Do Women Affect the Final Decision on the Housing Market? A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-23, June.
    11. 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).
    12. 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.
    13. Agnese Romiti & Mariacristina Rossi, 2014. "Wealth decumulation, portfolio composition and financial literacy among European elderly," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 375, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    14. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Siew Ling Yew & Thi Minh Thu Nguyen, 2022. "Health status and housing tenure decisions of older Australians," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(4), pages 966-989, December.
    15. 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).
    16. 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.
    17. 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).
    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.

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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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