Do long-distance moves discourage homeownership? Evidence from England

Ha, Sejeong, Hilber, Christian A. L. ORCID: 0000-0002-1352-495X and Schöni, Olivier (2021) Do long-distance moves discourage homeownership? Evidence from England. Journal of Housing Economics, 53. ISSN 1051-1377

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Abstract

We hypothesize that as the distance of a residential move increases, the amount and quality of information collected on the destination housing market fall. This in turn increases the chances of making an ill-informed housing purchase decision, thus reducing the likelihood of such a purchase. Using data from the Survey of English Housing from 1993 to 2008, we document that, consistent with our prior, households moving over long distances – defined as 50 miles or more – have, on average, a 5.5 percentage point lower probability of owning their next home compared to shorter-distance movers. We also provide evidence consistent with the views that long-distance movers (i) are aware that they possess less and/or lower quality information and (ii) are more likely, especially if they are renters, to move again quickly after presumably having accrued better information on the property and local area.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-h...
Additional Information:	© 2021 Elsevier Inc
Divisions:	Geography and Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R21 - Housing Demand R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R23 - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
Date Deposited:	02 Mar 2021 11:21
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2025 16:42
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/108928

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