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The Gender Gap in Housing Returns

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  • Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham
  • Kelly Shue

Abstract

Housing wealth represents the dominant form of savings for American households. Using detailed data on housing transactions across the United States since 1991, we find that single men earn one percentage point higher unlevered returns per year on housing investment relative to single women, with couples occupying the intermediate range. The gender gap grows significantly larger after adjusting for mortgage borrowing: men earn 6 percentage points higher levered returns per year relative to women. Data on repeat sales reveal that women buy the same property for approximately 2% more and sell for 2% less. The gender gap in housing returns varies by holding period, and arises because of gender differences in the location and timing of transactions, choice of initial listing price, and negotiated discount relative to the listing price. Gender differences in upgrade rates, preferences for housing characteristics, and listing agents appear to be less important factors. The gender gap varies with market tightness and demographic characteristics, but remains large in regions with high average education, income, and house price levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Kelly Shue, 2020. "The Gender Gap in Housing Returns," Working Papers 2020-003, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2020-003
    Note: MIP
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Christian A. L. Hilber & Tracy M. Turner, 2024. "Land use regulation, homeownership and wealth inequality," CEP Discussion Papers dp2003, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Ran Gu & Cameron Peng & Weilong Zhang, 2021. "The gender gap in household bargaining power: a portfolio-choice approach," IFS Working Papers W21/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. William N Goetzmann & Christophe Spaenjers & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2021. "Real and Private-Value Assets [Gendered prices]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(8), pages 3497-3526.
    5. Dragana Cvijanović & Christophe Spaenjers, 2021. "“We’ll Always Have Paris”: Out-of-Country Buyers in the Housing Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4120-4138, July.
    6. Madeira, Carlos, 2021. "The potential impact of financial portability measures on mortgage refinancing: Evidence from Chile," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. Barbara Biasi & Heather Sarsons, 2020. "Flexible Wages, Bargaining, and the Gender Gap," NBER Working Papers 27894, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Wong, Francis & Kermani, Amir, 2022. "Racial Disparities in Housing Returns," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264099, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Maria Coelho & Aieshwarya Davis & Alexander Klemm & Carolina Osorio-Buitron, 2024. "Gendered taxes: the interaction of tax policy with gender equality," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(5), pages 1413-1460, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    housing wealth; return on investments; single women;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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