Panel Paper: The Wealth of Young Low- and Moderate- Income Homeowners through the Great Recession

Friday, November 7, 2014 : 10:55 AM
Tesuque (Convention Center)

*Names in bold indicate Presenter

Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Washington University in St. Louis, Blair Russell, Washington University, St. Louis, Clinton Key, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Lucy Gorham, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Homeownership has long been seen as a life goal for young American households and as a mechanism for building wealth over the lifespan. Following the housing downturn associated with the Great Recession, questions arose concerning whether homeownership remained a goal for the younger generation and whether homeownership was still a mechanism for wealth creation (Herbert & Belsky, 2008; Belsky, 2013). Despite these concerns, there has been little empirical research focused specifically on the financial outcomes of young households. Using a data from the Community Advantage Program (CAP) panel survey of low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners and a matched set of renters, this paper examines the effects of homeownership on net worth and specifically focuses on the experiences of homeowners under the age of 40. The work explores trends in net worth from 2005 to 2012 among young homeowners relative to older homeowners and young renters.