The dream of home ownership
Around 70 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 40 dream of owning their own home. But are people who have achieved this dream actually happier? Researchers at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) answered this question with the help of data from the study “Living in Germany”.
Based on data from more than 800 homeowners, the researchers found that owning a home did indeed lead to greater life satisfaction. However, home ownership did not make people as happy they had previously predicted. The discrepancy between predicted life satisfaction and actual life satisfaction after buying a home was especially large among “status seekers”—people who value money and success relatively highly.
Further information
WirtschaftsWoche: Macht der Hauskauf wirklich glücklich?
IZA Newsroom: Does the dream of home ownership rest upon biased beliefs?
Photo by Avin Ezzati on Unsplash