1. Geographic Heterogeneity in Housing Market Risk and Portfolio Choice
- Author
-
Tong-yob Nam
- Subjects
Economics and Econometrics ,050208 finance ,business.industry ,05 social sciences ,Labor income ,Price elasticity of supply ,Health and Retirement Study ,Urban Studies ,Market risk ,Accounting ,0502 economics and business ,Economics ,Portfolio ,Demographic economics ,Residence ,050207 economics ,business ,health care economics and organizations ,Finance ,Financial services ,Stock (geology) - Abstract
The U.S. housing market is heterogeneous in that house price dynamics vary greatly across regions. Depending on the location of the main residence, households are exposed to completely different housing market risk. This paper examines how geographic heterogeneity in housing market risk affects household portfolio allocations. Housing supply elasticity largely explains variation in housing market risk across regions. Where housing supply elasticity is low, households face higher housing market risk since house price growth rates are more volatile and more positively correlated with stock returns and labor income growth rates. Using the restricted version of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data with detailed geographic information, I find that households in areas with low housing supply elasticity tend to hold less stock in their portfolios. This tendency, however, weakens after retirement when labor income risk disappears.
- Published
- 2020
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