Family dynamics and young adults’ homeownership transitions in Britain, Germany and Australia

Publication type

Conference Paper

Series

Understanding Society Scientific Conference 2017, 11-13 July 2017, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Author

Publication date

July 12, 2017

Summary:

Transition from parental home to the housing system is considered to be an important step in young adults’ independent living. While parents with higher socio-economic status and more wealth are expected to support their children entering the housing market, the ways in which parental background influence young peoples’ housing transitions out of the family home is likely to vary markedly across societies. This study asks how family life course events and parental background shape young adults’ homeownership transitions in Britain, Germany and Australia? We compare and contrast these countries as there are important differences but also many similarities in their structural conditions, welfare systems, institutional arrangements and cultural contexts. Data are drawn from the BHPS, UKHLS, SOEP, and HILDA. The sample consists of young interviewees who are in the parental home at age 18 and who are single and have not yet had a child. We then track these individuals until they either enter homeownership for the first time or exit the sample. We employ discrete time event history models of entering homeownership for the first time in each country. The preliminary results for this indicate that socio-economic status of parents increases the likelihood of homeownership. There are also strong important intergenerational continuities in tenure. Children of homeowner parents are more likely to become homeowners. Moreover, partnership formation is strongly associated with homeownership transition. Although there are many cross-national similarities in the pattern of effects, the results also point to some important differences in how young people enter the housing market in our three study countries.

Subjects

Link

https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/scientific-conference-2017/papers/103

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