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Discussion Paper
Do People View Housing as a Good Investment and Why?
Housing represents the largest asset owned by most households and is a major means of wealth accumulation, particularly for the middle class. Yet there is limited understanding of how households view housing as an investment relative to financial assets, in part because of their differences beyond the usual risk and return trade-off. Housing offers households an accessible source of leverage and a commitment device for saving through an amortization schedule. For an owner-occupied residence, it also provides stability and hedges for rising housing costs. On the other hand, housing is much ...
Essay
Arrival of Interstate Highway System Brought Housing Wealth, but to Whom?
Interstate highways increased household wealth through higher house values, but racial inequities in homeownership meant few residents of color reaped these gains.
Journal Article
Movin' On Up
More young people, poor people and minorities are buying homes these days, but not because of tax deductions or government affordable-housing programs.
Journal Article
Spotlight on Research: Down Payment Assistance Plays Critical Role in Affordable Homeownership
In the aftermath of the recent Great Recession, there has been a tightening in mortgage lending practices. This cautious atmosphere has been prompted in large part by the rash of foreclosures in the housing market that accompanied the financial crisis. One potential safeguard is the existence of a down payment requirement that must be met by prospective homebuyers as a condition of securing a mortgage. The rationale is that when individuals invest their own money in the form of a down payment, the potential homebuyers will be more motivated to maintain their mortgage obligations. For those ...
Discussion Paper
Who Has Been Evicted and Why?
More than two million American households are at risk of eviction every year. Evictions have been found to cause prolonged homelessness, worsened health conditions, and lack of credit access. During the COVID-19 outbreak, governments at all levels implemented eviction moratoriums to keep renters in their homes. As these moratoriums and enhanced income supports for unemployed workers come to an end, the possibility of a wave of evictions in the second half of the year is drawing increased attention. Despite the importance of evictions and related policies, very few economic studies have been ...
Report
Disaster (over-)insurance: the long-term financial and socioeconomic consequences of Hurricane Katrina
Federal disaster insurance?in the form of national flood insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other programs?is designed to nationally-distribute large geography-specific shocks like earthquakes and hurricanes. This study examines the local longrun net impact of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent policy response on impacted residents. Using a unique fifteen-year panel of five percent of adult Americans? credit reports, we find higher rates of insolvency and lower homeownership among inundated residents of New Orleans ten years after the storm, relative to their ...
Journal Article
Understanding the Generational Gaps in Homeownership
Student loan debt may contribute to the homeownership gap among generations.
Discussion Paper
Do People View Housing as a Good Investment and Why?
Housing represents the largest asset owned by most households and is a major means of wealth accumulation, particularly for the middle class. Yet there is limited understanding of how households view housing as an investment relative to financial assets, in part because of their differences beyond the usual risk and return trade-off. Housing offers households an accessible source of leverage and a commitment device for saving through an amortization schedule. For an owner-occupied residence, it also provides stability and hedges for rising housing costs. On the other hand, housing is much ...
The Great Recession’s Impact on Homeownership
In the recession’s aftermath, there were generational differences in homeownership rates, with progressively worsening rates for younger generations.
Journal Article
San Antonio Tackles Foreclosure
A look-to city for programs to help low- and moderate-income working families build assets, San Antonio has taken on the challenge of homeownership preservation.