Concepedia

Tenure Changes in the Context of Micro-level Family and Macro-level Economic Shifts

William A. V. Clark, Marinus C. Deurloo, Frans M. Dieleman

Urban Studies · 1994 · 194 citations · 26 references

TL;DR

Prior research on tenure change has largely relied on cross‑sectional studies, treating the move from rent to own as an investment decision and linking it to household demographics. This study uses life‑course analysis and longer panel data to examine not only demographic correlates but also the timing of tenure transitions. Couples typically purchase and transition to family life within 2–3 years, and tenure change is shaped by both spatial and temporal economic conditions.

Abstract

Almost all the work to date on tenure changes, specifically the move from rent to own, has been derived from cross-sectional analysis of this important housing market decision. Economists have emphasised the investment nature of the housing consumption decision, while demographers and geographers have investigated tenure change in relationship to the demographic characteristics of the household. Now, the developing notions of life-course analysis and the availability of longer panel series enable us to investigate not just the demographic relatives of tenure change, but the critical aspects of timing as well. Specifically, many couples choose to buy and make the transition to a family within 2-3 years. We show also that tenure change is influenced by both spatial and temporal economic contexts.