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Why Do the Swiss Rent?

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  • Steven Bourassa
  • Martin Hoesli

Abstract

At 34%, Switzerland has the lowest home ownership rate in Western Europe. This is a puzzle given the economic strength of the country. We use 1998 household survey data for five Swiss cantons to explore some possible reasons for this. We estimate a tenure choice equation that allows us to analyze the impacts of a number of key variables on the ownership rate. We pay particular attention to the relative cost of owning and renting, which is a function of house prices, rents, and the user cost of owning. The latter is a function of income tax policy and expected house price inflation, among other things. We also measure mortgage underwriting criteria and consider rent control and other policies affecting rental housing. By simulating a number of hypothetical changes to taxation and other policies, underwriting criteria, and price levels, we assess the importance of these variables in explaining the ownership rate. We conclude that high house pricesórelative to rents and to household incomes and wealthóare by far the most important cause of Switzerlandís low ownership rate.
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  • Steven Bourassa & Martin Hoesli, 2010. "Why Do the Swiss Rent?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 286-309, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:40:y:2010:i:3:p:286-309
    DOI: 10.1007/s11146-008-9140-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Bourassa, Steven & Hoesli, Martin & Scognamiglio, Donato, 2010. "Housing finance, prices, and tenure in Switzerland," MPRA Paper 45990, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Nicole Aregger & Martin Brown & Dr. Enzo Rossi, 2013. "Transaction Taxes, Capital Gains Taxes and House Prices," Working Papers 2013-02, Swiss National Bank.
    3. Firas Zebian & Richard Dusansky, 2015. "Housing Tax Reform and Foreclosure Rates," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 351-364, October.
    4. Hilber, Christian A. L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2016. "Housing policies in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United States: lessons learned," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 72818, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Michael Berlemann & Julia Freese, 2013. "Monetary policy and real estate prices: a disaggregated analysis for Switzerland," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 469-490, December.
    6. Philippe Bélanger, 2012. "Assessment of fixed rate mortgage implied insurance cost: Method and ex-post Swiss market analysis," ERES eres2012_372, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    7. Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2022. "Rent Control Effects through the Lens of Empirical Research," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 139, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Löchl, Michael & Axhausen, Kay W., 2010. "Modelling hedonic residential rents for land use and transport simulation while considering spatial effects," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 3(2), pages 39-63.
    9. Florian Oswald, 2015. "Regional Shocks, Migration and Homeownership," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/n1d9kd7k48k, Sciences Po.
    10. Costello, Greg & Fraser, Patricia & Groenewold, Nicolaas, 2011. "House prices, non-fundamental components and interstate spillovers: The Australian experience," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 653-669, March.
    11. Miriam Marcén & Marina Morales, 2020. "The effect of culture on home‐ownership," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 56-87, January.
    12. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/n1d9kd7k48keoo4brb07foqbd is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Florian Oswald, 2015. "Regional Shocks, Migration and Homeownership," 2015 Meeting Papers 759, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Saiz, Albert, 2023. "The Global Housing Affordability Crisis: Policy Options and Strategies," IZA Policy Papers 203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Reto Odermatt & Alois Stutzer, 2022. "Does the Dream of Home Ownership Rest Upon Biased Beliefs? A Test Based on Predicted and Realized Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 3731-3763, December.
    16. Steven C. Bourassa & Ming Yin, 2008. "Tax Deductions, Tax Credits and the Homeownership Rate of Young Urban Adults in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(5-6), pages 1141-1161, May.
    17. Karol Jan Borowiecki, 2012. "Dynamics of a Protected Housing Market: The Case of Switzerland," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(14), pages 3195-3210, November.
    18. Karol Jan Borowiecki, 2009. "The Determinants of House Prices and Construction: An Empirical Investigation of the Swiss Housing Economy," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 12(3), pages 193-220.
    19. Steven C. Bourassa & Chien-Wen Peng, 2011. "Why Is Taiwan’s Homeownership Rate So High?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(13), pages 2887-2904, October.
    20. Florian Oswald, 2015. "Regional Shocks, Migration and Homeownership," Working Papers hal-03459804, HAL.
    21. Ferreira, Frederico Poley Martins & Ávila, Paulo Coelho, 2018. "Who has secure land tenure in the urban areas of Brazil? Evidence from the state of Minas Gerais," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 494-504.
    22. Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2022. "Rent Control Effects through the Lens of Empirical Research: An almost Complete Review of the Literature," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2026, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    23. Renata Bottazzi & Thomas Crossley & Matthew Wakefield, 2012. "Late starters or excluded generations? A cohort analysis of catch up in home ownership in England," IFS Working Papers W12/10, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    24. Santiago Carbó-Valverde & Sergio Mayordomo & Francisco Rodríguez-Fernández, 2018. "Disentangling the Effects of Household Financial Constraints and Risk Profile on Mortgage Rates," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 76-100, January.
    25. Boehm, Thomas P. & Schlottmann, Alan M., 2014. "The dynamics of housing tenure choice: Lessons from Germany and the United States," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 1-19.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Home ownership; House prices; Tax policy; Switzerland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location

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