IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp7468.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Determinants of Immigrant Homeownership: Examining their Changing Role during the Great Recession and Beyond

Author

Listed:
  • Mundra, Kusum

    (Rutgers University)

  • Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth

    (Agnes Scott College)

Abstract

The Great Recession had significant economic effects both in the U.S. and around the world. There is evidence that homeownership rates declined during this period, though some immigrants were less severely affected compared to natives. In this paper we investigate the role of several factors in reducing the vulnerability of immigrants in the face of the economic crisis and increasing the probability of their homeownership. Specifically we examine to what extent birthplace networks, savings, length of stay in the U.S., and citizenship status affect the probability of homeownership before the recession and to what extent these impacts have changed since the recession. Using data from Current Population Survey for the years 2000 – 2012 our results suggest that birthplace networks have a significant effect on homeownership and this effect further increases after the onset of recession. Moreover the impact of birthplace network on homeownership is stronger for citizens and those who are not recent immigrants. We also find a decline in the impact of saving and length of stay on the probability of homeownership during 2007-2012 compared to earlier years. In contrast we find an increase in the impact of being a citizen on immigrant homeownership during this period.

Suggested Citation

  • Mundra, Kusum & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2013. "Determinants of Immigrant Homeownership: Examining their Changing Role during the Great Recession and Beyond," IZA Discussion Papers 7468, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7468
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp7468.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eiji Yamamura, 2011. "How Do Neighbors Influence Investment in Social Capital? Homeownership and Length of Residence," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 17(4), pages 451-464, November.
    2. Belton, Willie & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2008. "The Racial Saving Gap Enigma: Unraveling the Role of Institutions," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 37089, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. Una Okonkwo Osili & Anna L. Paulson, 2006. "What can we learn about financial access from U.S. immigrants?," Working Paper Series WP-06-25, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    4. Sarah Bohn & Sarah Pearlman, 2013. "Ethnic Concentration and Bank Use in Immigrant Communities," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(4), pages 864-885, April.
    5. Peter Linneman & Susan Wachter, 1989. "The Impacts of Borrowing Constraints on Homeownership," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(4), pages 389-402, December.
    6. Ashoka Mody & Franziska Ohnsorge & Damiano Sandri, 2012. "Precautionary Savings in the Great Recession," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 60(1), pages 114-138, April.
    7. Coulson, N. Edward, 1999. "Why Are Hispanic- and Asian-American Homeownership Rates So Low?: Immigration and Other Factors," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 209-227, March.
    8. Bocian, Debbie Gruenstein & Ernst, Keith S. & Li, Wei, 2008. "Race, ethnicity and subprime home loan pricing," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(1-2), pages 110-124.
    9. Mundra, Kusum, 2013. "Minority and Immigrant Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 7131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2007. "Social networks and their impact on the earnings of Mexican Migrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(4), pages 849-863, November.
    11. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Liu, Yingchun, 2008. "Explaining the black-white homeownership gap: The role of own wealth, parental externalities and locational preferences," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 152-174, June.
    12. Eileen Diaz McConnell & Enrico A. Marcelli, 2007. "Buying into the American Dream? Mexican Immigrants, Legal Status, and Homeownership in Los Angeles County," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(1), pages 199-221, March.
    13. Alicia Adsera & Barry Chiswick, 2007. "Are there gender and country of origin differences in immigrant labor market outcomes across European destinations?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(3), pages 495-526, July.
    14. Henry S. Farber, 2012. "Unemployment in the Great Recession: Did the Housing Market Crisis Prevent the Unemployed from Moving to Take Jobs?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 520-525, May.
    15. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2013. "Immigrant Homeownership and Immigration Status: Evidence from Spain," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 204-218, May.
    16. Christopher Mayer & Karen Pence & Shane M. Sherlund, 2009. "The Rise in Mortgage Defaults," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(1), pages 27-50, Winter.
    17. Borjas, George J., 2002. "Homeownership in the immigrant population," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 448-476, November.
    18. Swarn Chatterjee, 2009. "Immigrants Have Lower Participation Rates In U.S. Financial Markets?," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 3(2), pages 1-13.
    19. Marsha J. Courchane & Brian J. Surette & Peter M. Zorn, 2004. "Subprime Borrowers: Mortgage Transitions and Outcomes," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 365-392, December.
    20. Gary A. Dymski, 2006. "Discrimination in the Credit and Housing Markets: Findings and Challenges," Chapters, in: William M. Rodgers III (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Discrimination, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Christopher J. Mayer & Karen Pence, 2008. "Subprime Mortgages: What, Where, and to Whom?," NBER Working Papers 14083, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Maude Toussaint‐Comeau & Sherrie L. W. Rhine, 2004. "Tenure Choice with Location Selection: The Case of Hispanic Neighborhoods in Chicago," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(1), pages 95-110, January.
    23. Gary Painter & Zhou Yu, 2012. "Caught in the Housing Bubble: Immigrants' Housing Outcomes in Traditional Gateways and Newly Emerging Destinations," Working Paper 8953, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    24. Daglish, Toby, 2009. "What motivates a subprime borrower to default?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 681-693, April.
    25. Nothaft, Frank E. & Perry, Vanessa G., 2002. "Do mortgage rates vary by neighborhood? Implications for loan pricing and redlining," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 244-265, September.
    26. Anna Paulson & Sherrie Rhine, 2008. "The Financial Assimilation of an Immigrant Group: Evidence on the Use of Checking and Savings Accounts and Currency Exchanges," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 264-278, June.
    27. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    28. Suhas L. Ketkar & Manoj K. Dora, 2011. "Wealth of recent immigrants to the USA," International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(4), pages 330-344.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mundra, Kusum & Rios-Avila, Fernando, 2016. "Immigrant Birthcountry Networks and Unemployment Duration: Evidence around the Great Recession," IZA Discussion Papers 10233, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Kusum Mundra & Fernando Rios-Avila, 2021. "Using repeated cross-sectional data to examine the role of immigrant birth-country networks on unemployment duration: an application of Guell and Hu (2006) approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 389-415, July.
    3. Mundra, Kusum & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2016. "Single and Investing: Homeownership Trends among the Never Married," IZA Discussion Papers 9935, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Kusum Mundra, 2020. "Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 53-81, January.
    5. Christine Wen & Jeremy L. Wallace, 2019. "Toward Human-Centered Urbanization? Housing Ownership and Access to Social Insurance Among Migrant Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    7. Chakrabarty, Durba & Osei, Michael J. & Winters, John V. & Zhao, Danyang, 2017. "Are Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Rates Gaining Ground in the US?," IZA Discussion Papers 10852, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mundra, Kusum, 2013. "Minority and Immigrant Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 7131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Mundra, Kusum, 2013. "Minority and Immigrant Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 7131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kusum Mundra, 2020. "Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 53-81, January.
    4. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2013. "Immigrant Homeownership and Immigration Status: Evidence from Spain," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 204-218, May.
    5. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    6. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2010. "Legalization and Immigrant Homeownership: Evidence from Spain," Working Papers Rutgers University, Newark 2010-005, Department of Economics, Rutgers University, Newark.
    7. Chakrabarty, Durba & Osei, Michael J. & Winters, John V. & Zhao, Danyang, 2017. "Are Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Rates Gaining Ground in the US?," IZA Discussion Papers 10852, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Chan, Sewin & Haughwout, Andrew & Tracy, Joseph, 2015. "How Mortgage Finance Affects the Urban Landscape," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 987-1045, Elsevier.
    9. Núria Rodríguez‐Planas, 2018. "Mortgage finance and culture," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 786-821, September.
    10. Wang, Jia & Winters, John V. & Yuan, Weici, 2022. "Can legal status help unauthorized immigrants achieve the American dream? Evidence from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Laurent Gobillon & Matthieu Solignac, 2020. "Homeownership of immigrants in France: selection effects related to international migration flows [A nation of immigrants: assimilation and economic outcomes in the age of mass migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 355-396.
    12. Mundra, Kusum & Rios-Avila, Fernando, 2016. "Immigrant Birthcountry Networks and Unemployment Duration: Evidence around the Great Recession," IZA Discussion Papers 10233, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Ha, Sejeong & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2021. "Do long-distance moves discourage homeownership? Evidence from England," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Rebbeca Tesfai, 2017. "Continued Success or Caught in the Housing Bubble? Black Immigrants and the Housing Market Crash," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 36(4), pages 531-560, August.
    15. Tracy M. Turner & Marc T. Smith, 2009. "Exits From Homeownership: The Effects Of Race, Ethnicity, And Income," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 1-32, February.
    16. Coulson, N. Edward & Dalton, Maurice, 2010. "Temporal and ethnic decompositions of homeownership rates: Synthetic cohorts across five censuses," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 155-166, September.
    17. Laurent Gobillon & Matthieu Solignac, 2014. "Homeownership of immigrants in France," ERSA conference papers ersa14p558, European Regional Science Association.
    18. Stefano Colonnello & Mariela Dal Borgo, 2024. "Raising Household Leverage: Evidence from Co-Financed Mortgages," Working Papers 2024: 01, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    19. Jepsen, Christopher & Jepsen, Lisa K., 2009. "Does home ownership vary by sexual orientation?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 307-315, May.
    20. Graziella Bertocchi & Marianna Brunetti & Anzelika Zaiceva, 2023. "The Financial Decisions of Immigrant and Native Households: Evidence from Italy," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(1), pages 117-174, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Great Recession; home ownership; birthplace networks; savings; years in the U.S.; citizenship status;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7468. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.