Homeownership and Economic Growth

The conventional wisdom says homeownership is a growth spur. This was especially the case in the fordist mass production economy, where long-term employment was the rule for many and home-buying prompted purchases of automobiles, appliances and consumer durables.

Now, maybe not so much. That is, according to new analysis by Joe Cortright which suggests that homeownership may actually dampen economic performance in this highly mobile creative age.

More here (via CEOs for Cities.

Comments

[Wendy]

Definitely read the full CEO for cities article, as the second half points out that lower home ownership may be the result of high economic performance and not the cause of it. That is, if a city is booming, lots of new people are arriving and they tend to rent. Mobile people also tend to be younger and therefore haven't necessarily reached the "ownership" stage of life.