I study optimal housing and portfolio choice under stochastic inflation and real interest rates. Renters allocate financial wealth to stocks and bonds with different maturities. Homeowners also choose the mortgage type. I show that hedge demands and financial constraints vary over an investor's lifetime, giving rise to a pronounced life-cycle pattern in the optimal housing, stock, bond, and mortgage choice. Young homeowners take an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and invest financial wealth predominantly in stocks. Later in the life cycle bonds play an important role, mainly as a hedge against changing real interest rates and house prices. Fairly risk-tolerant homeowners still prefer an ARM, while more risk-averse investors rather choose a combination of an ARM and a fixed-rate mortgage.
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Paper provided by Institute for Financial Research in its series SIFR Research Report Series with number
44.
Length: 25 pages Date of creation: 15 Sep 2006 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:hhs:sifrwp:0044
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Ralph S.J Koijen & Otto Van Hemert & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2007.
"Mortgage Timing,"
NBER Working Papers
13361, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
Koijen, Ralph S.J. & Hemert, Otto Van & Nieuwerburgh, Stijn Van, 2009.
"Mortgage timing,"
Journal of Financial Economics,
Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 292-324, August.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)