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Net Worth and Housing Equity in Retirement

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  • Todd Sinai
  • Nicholas S. Souleles

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Todd Sinai & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2007. "Net Worth and Housing Equity in Retirement," NBER Working Papers 13693, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13693
    Note: AG AP EFG LS PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Hui Shan, 2011. "Reversing the Trend: The Recent Expansion of the Reverse Mortgage Market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(4), pages 743-768, December.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser & Charles G. Nathanson, 2014. "Housing Bubbles," NBER Working Papers 20426, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Alicia H. Munnell & Mauricio Soto, 2008. "The Housing Bubble and Retirement Security," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2008-13, Center for Retirement Research, revised Aug 2008.
    4. Rogelio J. Cardona & Karen C. Castro-Gonzalez, 2014. "A Comparative Analysis of Reverse Mortgages: Evidence from Puerto Rico and the United States," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 8(5), pages 41-57.
    5. Stephanie Moulton & Donald Haurin & Samuel Dodini & Maximilian D. Schmeiser, 2016. "How Home Equity Extraction and Reverse Mortgages Affect the Credit Outcomes of Senior Households," Working Papers wp351, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    6. Sandrine Juin, 2016. "Care for dependent elderly people : dealing with health and financing issues," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph16-02 edited by Thomas Barnay, February.
    7. Alexandra Spicer & Olena Stavrunova & Susan Thorp, 2016. "How Portfolios Evolve after Retirement: Evidence from Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 92(297), pages 241-267, June.
    8. Renata Bottazzi & Tullio Jappelli & Mario Padula, 2009. "The Portfolio Effect of Pension Reforms," CSEF Working Papers 234, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    9. Daniel Barczyk & Sean Fahle & Matthias Kredler, 2023. "Save, Spend, or Give? A Model of Housing, Family Insurance, and Savings in Old Age," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(5), pages 2116-2187.
    10. Hardy Hulley & Rebecca Mckibbin & Andreas Pedersen & Susan Thorp, 2013. "Means-Tested Public Pensions, Portfolio Choice and Decumulation in Retirement," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(284), pages 31-51, March.
    11. Carole Bonnet & Sandrine Juin & Anne Laferrère, 2019. "Private Financing of Long‑Term Care: Income, Savings and Reverse Mortgages," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 507-508, pages 5-24.
    12. Yogo, Motohiro, 2016. "Portfolio choice in retirement: Health risk and the demand for annuities, housing, and risky assets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 17-34.
    13. Hyrum Smith & Michael Finke & Sandra Huston, 2012. "Financial Sophistication and Housing Leverage Among Older Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 315-327, September.
    14. Jingjing Yan, 2018. "The Heterogenous Impact of Fluctuation of Housing Prices upon Consumption of Urban Households in China," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 8(6), pages 1-8.
    15. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti & David A. Wise, 2010. "Demographic Trends, Housing Equity, and the Financial Security of Future Retirees," NBER Chapters, in: Demography and the Economy, pages 227-287, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - 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; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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