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Can’t Buy Me Home: Beliefs, Facts, and Policy in the Housing Affordability Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Botelho Azevedo, Alda

    (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)

  • Gonçalves, Inês

    (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)

  • Pereira dos Santos, João

    (Queen Mary University of London)

Abstract

Our study investigates public opinion on the housing affordability crisis in Portugal through a nationally representative survey combined with an information provision experiment. Participants were asked to identify perceived causes of rising housing prices, assess their factual knowledge of the housing market and sociodemographic trends, and indicate their preferred policy solutions, carefully framed to reflect trade-offs. Half of the respondents were randomly assigned to receive official statistical information on these trends before indicating their policy preferences. The findings reveal significant heterogeneity in beliefs about the causes of the crisis, pervasive misperceptions regarding market trends, and a limited impact of information provision on policy preferences. These results underscore the challenges of addressing housing policy through informational interventions alone and highlight the need for strategies that integrate behavioral and contextual factors to foster informed public engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Botelho Azevedo, Alda & Gonçalves, Inês & Pereira dos Santos, João, 2025. "Can’t Buy Me Home: Beliefs, Facts, and Policy in the Housing Affordability Crisis," IZA Discussion Papers 18073, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18073
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • F60 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - General
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government

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