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Marital history and home ownership: Evidence from Australia

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  • Hendershott, Patric H.
  • Ong, Rachel
  • Wood, Gavin A.
  • Flatau, Paul

Abstract

The relative cost of owning and renting housing and housing affordability have been clearly established as important determinants of home ownership. But the roles of marital status and history have been largely ignored. In this paper we show that both current marital status and past history affect ownership. Past history matters because wealth accumulation is greater among couple households than singles owing largely to economies of scale in housing consumption. Moreover, wealth is lost upon divorce. In effect, past marital history affects the affordability of owner housing. This result is shown in the estimation of model explaining wealth, leverage and tenure choice using Australian datasets.

Suggested Citation

  • Hendershott, Patric H. & Ong, Rachel & Wood, Gavin A. & Flatau, Paul, 2009. "Marital history and home ownership: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 13-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:18:y:2009:i:1:p:13-24
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    2. Mundra, Kusum & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2018. "Marriage Market Signals and Homeownership for the Never Married," GLO Discussion Paper Series 258, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Dilmaghani, Maryam & Dean, Jason, 2020. "Sexual orientation and homeownership in Canada," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    4. Eriksen, Michael D., 2010. "Homeownership subsidies and the marriage decisions of low-income households," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 490-497, November.
    5. Shinae L. Choi & Deborah Carr, 2023. "Older Adults’ Relationship Trajectories and Estate Planning," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 356-372, June.
    6. Rachel Ong & Gavin Wood & Val Colic-Peisker, 2015. "Housing older Australians: Loss of homeownership and pathways into housing assistance," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(16), pages 2979-3000, December.
    7. Gavin A. Wood & Rachel Ong, 2013. "When and Why Do Landlords Retain Property Investments?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(16), pages 3243-3261, December.
    8. Gavin A. Wood & Rachel Ong, 2017. "The Australian Housing System: A Quiet Revolution?," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 50(2), pages 197-204, June.
    9. Hoa Nguyen, 2019. "Impact of Increasing Minimum Wage on Homeownership and Home Equity Loans," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 25(2), pages 209-219, May.
    10. Yilan Xu, 2017. "Mandatory savings, credit access and home ownership: The case of the housing provident fund," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(15), pages 3446-3463, November.
    11. Garner, Thesia I. & Short, Kathleen, 2009. "Accounting for owner-occupied dwelling services: Aggregates and distributions," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 233-248, September.
    12. Lishan Xiao & Quanyi Qiu & Lijie Gao, 2016. "Chinese Housing Reform and Social Sustainability: Evidence from Post-Reform Home Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-14, October.
    13. Siobhan Austen & Therese Jefferson & Rachel Ong, 2014. "The Gender Gap in Financial Security: What We Know and Don't Know about Australian Households," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 25-52, July.
    14. Ricks, Judith S., 2021. "Mortgage subsidies, homeownership, and marriage: Effects of the VA loan program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

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