Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8889
Authors: Viola Angelini; Agar Brugiavini; Guglielmo Weber
Abstract: We use life history data covering households in thirteen European countries to analyse residential moves past age 50. We observe four types of moves: renting to owning, owning to renting, trading up or trading down for home-owners. We find that in the younger group (aged 50-64) trading up and purchase decisions prevail; in the older group (65+), trading down and selling are more common. Overall, moves are rare, particularly in Southern European countries. Most moves are driven by changes in household composition (divorce, widowhood, nest-leaving by children), but economic factors play a role: low income households who are house-rich and cash-poor are more likely to sell their home late in life.
Keywords: housing; lifecycle
JEL Codes: D19; E21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| demographic events such as widowhood and divorce (J12) | likelihood of moving from homeownership to renting (R21) |
| poor health (I14) | probability of moving into rented accommodation (R21) |
| being married (J12) | likelihood of moving into rented accommodation (R21) |
| early life conditions such as educational environment (I24) | likelihood of downsizing (J63) |