I think this has been discussed here a few times.
Via Felix Salmon, Grace Wong does an empirical survey on the impact of home ownership on 809 women in Columbus, Ohio, in 2005:
An interesting portrait of homeowners emerges from my analysis. I find little evidence that homeowners are happier by any of the following definitions: life satisfaction, overall mood, overall feeling, general moment-to-moment emotions (i.e., affect) and affect at home. Several factors might be at work: homeowners derive more pain (but no more joy) from both their home and their neighborhood. They are also more likely to be 12 pounds heavier, report lower health status and poorer sleep quality. They tend to spend less time on active leisure or with friends. The average homeowner reports less joy from love and relationships. She is also less likely to consider herself to enjoy being with people… The results are robust after controlling for reported financial stress.
Count this as another reason that public policy aimed at subsidizing home ownership is misguided. I bet Ed Glaeser’s new book on rethinking federal housing policy is interesting, and am looking forward to reading it.
I wonder if some of this research might also apply to marriage and children as well
Yea…no stress involved in raising a family these days. I was listening to a George Carlin bootleg from 2002, and in the middle of a bit about suicide, he branches off and points out that all the low-interest loans being sold are going to come bite the country in the ass, and the taxpayers will get screwed when it’s all said and done. Prophetic!
I really like owning my own home but I know several people that complain about having to fix things or not being able to move closer to their job. Renting gives people flexability. I am sure that some people love family life as well but I think it is a mistake to build a whole policy on the idea that something that is positive for many people needs to be encouraged for all.
Maybe part of the foreclosure crisis is caused by people leaving homes that they got into thinking they could make a lot of money but other than that they really didn’t like the house.
You should read the comments in Felix’s post:
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2008/12/11/homeownership-makes-you-fat-and-unhappy#blogComments
Yours truly left 2, the first of which Felix tried to discount.
I tried to get there and couldn’t find the comments could be something to do with my Blackberry.
What did you say?
Hey Mr Bettor:
I was able to read it from a PC. It is interesting that homeownership for many people can become a burden. My first house was definitely a burden for me because I didn’t like the area and it took me forever to sell it. When I bought it I listened to my realtor who kept saying I needed to get three bedrooms and all these things I really didn’t need. I am pretty sure I never went into two of the bedrooms the whole time I lived there. When I finally sold the house I had to get a different realtor to show me places that I actually wanted to live. The realtor that I got rid of is a friend of my dads who to this day keeps telling my parents that he might be willing to help get rid of the place I bought, but it will be very difficult as according to him I live in the ghetto.
Real estate is a very personal decision and I think their are plenty of people out there who are happy to help you make the wrong decision for your own good.