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Housing Decision with Divorce Risk

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  • Fischer, Marcel
  • Khorunzhina, Natalia

Abstract

We build a realistically calibrated life-cycle model of housing decisions under divorce risk. As observed in the data, our model predicts the recent increase in divorce rates leads to reduced homeownership rates. The event of a divorce negatively affects homeownership, and this effect is long-lasting. The risk of a divorce triggers a precautionary savings motive. However, this motive is weaker when individuals can invest in owner-occupied homes because homeowners’ higher savings partially substitute for precautionary savings. When young, the larger asset accumulation due to divorce-risk induced precautionary savings enables households to buy homes earlier, whereas the presence of transaction costs leads to reduced homeownership for middle-aged and older households when divorce risk goes up.

Suggested Citation

  • Fischer, Marcel & Khorunzhina, Natalia, 2018. "Housing Decision with Divorce Risk," MPRA Paper 90090, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:90090
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    Cited by:

    1. Gonzalo Paz-Pardo, 2024. "Homeownership and Portfolio Choice over the Generations," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 207-237, January.
    2. Eerola, Essi & Harjunen, Oskari & Lyytikäinen, Teemu & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2021. "Revisiting the effects of housing transfer taxes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Essi Eerola & Oskari Harjunen & Teemu Lyytikäinen & Tuukka Saarimaa, 2019. "Effects of Housing Transfer Taxes on Household Mobility," CESifo Working Paper Series 7750, CESifo.
    4. Khorunzhina, Natalia, 2021. "Intratemporal nonseparability between housing and nondurable consumption: Evidence from reinvestment in housing stock," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 658-670.
    5. Michael Warlters, 2023. "Stamp Duty Reform and Home Ownership," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 99(327), pages 492-511, December.
    6. Minsu Chang, 2019. "A House Without a Ring: The Role of Changing Marital Transitions for Housing Decisions," 2019 Meeting Papers 514, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Natalia Khorunzhina & Robert A. Miller, 2022. "2021 Klein Lecture: American Dream Delayed: Shifting Determinants Of Homeownership," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(1), pages 3-35, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household finance; real estate; life cycle; divorce risk; family economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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