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Net Worth and Housing Equity in Retirement

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Author Info
Todd Sinai
Nicholas S. Souleles

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Abstract

This paper documents the trends in the life-cycle profiles of net worth and housing equity between 1983 and 2004. The net worth of older households significantly increased during the housing boom of recent years. However, net worth grew by more than housing equity, in part because other assets also appreciated at the same time. Moreover, the younger elderly offset rising house prices by increasing their housing debt, and used some of the proceeds to invest in other assets. We also consider how much of their housing equity older households can actually tap, using reverse mortgages. This fraction is lower at younger ages, such that young retirees can consume less than half of their housing equity. These results imply that 'consumable' net worth is smaller than standard calculations of net worth.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 13693.

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Date of creation: Dec 2007
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13693

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Mortgages
J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped
R21 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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  1. James Poterba & Steven Venti & David A. Wise, 2008. "Demographic Trends, Housing Equity, and the Financial Security of Future Retirees," NBER Chapters, in: Topics in Demography and the Economy National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  2. Susan Thorp & Hardy Hulley & Rebecca McKibbin & Andreas Pedersen, 2009. "Means-Tested Income Support, Portfolio Choice And Decumulation In Retirement," CAMA Working Papers 2009-12, Australian National University, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis. [Downloadable!]
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