Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Longitudinal analysis of the formation and realisation of preferences to move into homeownership in the Netherlands

  • Article
  • Published:
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigates how life course characteristics and housing market circumstances affect the formation and realisation of preferences to move into homeownership. Using a data set from the Netherlands in which data from three cross-sectional housing surveys are enriched with longitudinal register data for the period 1998–2008, we follow aspiring homeowners regarding their actual residential behaviour. We find that only 31 % of the aspiring homeowners became homeowners within 2 years, approximately 13 % moved to rental homes, and the vast majority did not move at all. Insufficient socioeconomic resources and a high house price-to-rent ratio hamper the realisation of preferences to move into homeownership. However, these hampering factors are at least as important as the extent to which individuals prefer to move into homeownership. This last finding suggests that housing tenure preferences cannot be viewed as ‘pure’ preferences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aalbers, M. B. (2007). What types of neighbourhoods are redlined? Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 22, 177–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aarland, K., & Nordvik, V. (2009). On the path to homeownership: Money, family composition and low-income households. Housing Studies, 24, 81–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ABF Valuation (2010). The WOX ® quarterly 2010 Q2. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from www.calcasa.co.uk.

  • ABF Research (2010a). Housing stock by ownership 2010, systeem woningvoorraad (Syswov).

  • ABF Research (2010b). Toewijzing sociale huurwoningen in het licht van de 90 % EC richtlijn [Allocation social rental housing with the eyes on the 90 % EC rule]. Delft: ABF Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alba, R. D., & Logan, J. R. (1992). Assimilation and stratification in the homeownership patterns of racial and ethnic groups. International Migration Review, 26, 1314–1341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, D., Caldera Sánchez, A. & Johansson, Å. (2011). Housing markets and structural policies in OECD countries. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 836, OECD Publishing.

  • Bakker, B. F. M. (2002). Statistics Netherlands’ approach to social statistics: The Social Statistical Dataset. OECD Statistics Newsletter, 11, 4–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, W. A. V., & Deurloo, M. C. (2006). Aging in place and housing over-consumption. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 21, 257–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, W. A. V., Deurloo, M. C., & Dieleman, F. M. (1994). Tenure changes in the context of micro-level family and macro-level economic shifts. Urban Studies, 31, 137–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, W. A. V., & Dieleman, F. M. (1996). Households and housing choice and outcomes in the housing market. New Jersey: Center for Urban Policy Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clogg, C. C., Petkova, E., & Haritou, A. (1995). Statistical methods for comparing regression coefficients between models. The American Journal of Sociology, 100, 1261–1293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courgeau, D., & Lelièvre, E. (1992). Interrelations between first homeownership, constitution of the family, and professional occupation in France. In J. Trussell & R. Hankinson (Eds.), Demographic applications of event history analysis (pp. 120–140). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowder, K. D. (2001). Racial stratification in the actuation of mobility expectations: Microlevel impacts of racially restrictive housing markets. Social Forces, 79, 1377–1396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DaVanzo, J. (1981). Microeconomic approaches to studying migration decisions. In G. F. De Jong & R. W. Gardner (Eds.), Migration decision making. Multidisciplinary approaches to microlevel studies in developed and developing countries (pp. 90–129). New York: Pergamon Press.

  • De Groot, C. (2011). Longitudinal analysis. In S. J. T. Jansen, H. C. C. H. Coolen, & R. W. Goetgeluk (Eds.), The measurement and analysis of housing preferences and choice (pp. 225–252). London: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Desbarats, J. (1983). Spatial choice and constraints on behaviour. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 73, 340–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Salvo, P., & Ermisch, J. (1997). Analysis of the dynamics of housing tenure choice in Britain. Journal of Urban Economics, 42, 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dieleman, F. M., & Everaers, P. C. J. (1994). From renting to owning: Life course and housing market circumstances. Housing Studies, 9, 11–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earnhart, D. (2002). Combining revealed and stated data to examine housing decisions using discrete choice analysis. Journal of Urban Economics, 51, 143–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsinga, M. (1995). Een eigen huis voor een smalle beurs; het ideaal voor bewoners en overheid? [Low income homeownership: an ideal for government and residents?]. Dissertation: Delft University of Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elster, J. (1983). Sour grapes. Studies in the subversion of rationality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ermisch, J., & Di Salvo, P. (1996). Surprises and housing tenure decisions in Great Britain. Journal of Housing Economics, 5, 247–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat (2012). Portrait of the regions—Netherlands. Retrieved July 23, 2012 from http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/regportraits/info/data/en/nl_national.htm.

  • Feijten, P., & Mulder, C. H. (2002). The timing of household events and housing events in the Netherlands: A longitudinal perspective. Housing Studies, 17, 773–792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feijten, P., & Visser, P. (2005). Binnenlandse migratie: Verhuismotieven en verhuisafstand. Bevolkingstrends, 53, 75–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, P. A., & Malmberg, G. (2001). Settled people don’t move: On life course and (im-)mobility in Sweden. International Journal of Population Geography, 7, 357–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzmaurice, G. M., Laird, N. M., & Ware, J. H. (2004). Applied longitudinal analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Interscience.

    Google Scholar 

  • Follain, J. R. (1982). Does inflation affect real behaviour: The case of housing. Southern Economic Journal, 48, 570–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, R., Murie, A., & Williams, P. (1990). Homeownership, differentiation and fragmentation. London: Unwin Hyman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetgeluk, R. W. (1997). Bomen over wonen. Woningmarktonderzoek met beslissingsbomen [Trading off housing preferences: Housing market research with decision plan nets]. Dissertation University Utrecht.

  • Haffner, M. E. A. (2011). The private rented sector in the Netherlands. In K. Scanlon & B. Kochan (Eds.), Towards a sustainable private rented sector. The lessons from other countries (pp. 61–76). London: London School of Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haffner, M. E. A., & Boumeester, H. J. F. M. (2010). The affordability of housing in the Netherlands: An increasing income gap between renting and owning? Housing Studies, 25, 799–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haffner, M., & Heylen, K. (2011). User costs and housing expenses. Towards a more comprehensive approach to affordability. Housing Studies, 26, 593–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helderman, A. C., Mulder, C. H., & Van Ham, M. (2004). The changing effect of home ownership on residential mobility in the Netherlands, 1980–1998. Housing Studies, 19, 601–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Himmelberg, C., Mayer, C., & Sinai, T. (2005). Assessing high house prices: Bubbles, fundamentals and misperceptions. Journal of Economic Principles, 19, 67–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Høj, J. (2011). Improving the flexibility of the Dutch housing market to enhance labour mobility. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, no. 833, OECD Publishing.

  • Ioannides, Y. M., & Kan, K. (1996). Structural estimation of residential mobility and housing tenure choice. Journal of Regional Science, 36, 335–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kan, K. (2000). Dynamic modelling of housing tenure choice. Journal of Urban Economics, 48, 46–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendig, H. L. (1984). Housing careers, life cycle and residential mobility: Implications for the housing market. Urban Studies, 21, 271–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krivo, L. J. (1995). Immigrant characteristics and Hispanic-Anglo housing inequality. Demography, 32, 599–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kullberg, J., Vervoort, M., & Dagevos, J. (2009). Goede buren kun je niet kopen. The Hague: SCP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. W., & Myers, D. (2003). Local housing-market effects on tenure choice. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 18, 129–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaverty, P., & Yip, N. M. (1993). The preference for owner-occupation. Environment and Planning A, 25, 1559–1572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Megbolugbe, I. F., & Linneman, P. D. (1993). Home ownership. Urban Studies, 30, 659–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, C. H. (1993). Migration dynamics: A life course approach. Dissertation, University of Amsterdam.

  • Mulder, C. H. (2004). Home ownership and social inequality in the Netherlands. In K. Kurz & H. P. Blossfeld (Eds.), Home ownership and social inequality in comparative perspective (pp. 114–140). Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, C. H., & Hooimeijer, P. (1995). Moving into owner-occupation: Compositional and contextual effects on the propensity to become a homeowner. Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 10, 5–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, C. H., & Hooimeijer, P. (1999). Residential relocations in the life course. In L. van Wissen & P. Dykstra (Eds.), Population issues: An interdisciplinary focus (pp. 159–186). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder, C. H., & Manting, D. (1994). Strategies of nest-leavers: ‘Settling down’ versus flexibility. European Sociological Review, 10, 155–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musterd, S., & Van Kempen, R. (2009). Segregation and housing of minority ethnic groups in Western European cities. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 100, 559–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D., Painter, G., Yu, Z., Ho Ryu, S., & Wei, L. (2005). Regional disparities in homeownership trajectories: Impacts of affordability, new construction, and immigration. Housing Policy Debate, 16, 53–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renes, G., & Jókövi, M. (2008). Doorstroming op de woningmarkt. Rotterdam/The Hague: NAi Uitgevers/PBL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renes, G., Thissen, M., & Segeren, A. (2006). Betaalbaarheid van koopwoningen en het ruimtelijk beleid. Rotterdam/The Hague: NAi Uitgevers/RPB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, T., White, M. J., & Tsui, A. O. (1987). Changing living arrangements: A hazards model of transitions among household types. Demography, 24, 77–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouwendal, J. (2007). Ageing, homeownership and mortgage choice in the Netherlands. Discussion Paper 2007—049. Amsterdam: Free University of Amsterdam/Netspar.

  • Rouwendal, J. (2009). Housing wealth and household portfolios in an ageing society. De Economist, 157, 1–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spader, J. S., & Quercia, R. G. (2008). Mobility and exit from homeownership: Implications for community reinvestment lending. Housing Policy Debate, 19, 675–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Netherlands (2010). Rent increase for dwellings. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/methoden/dataverzameling/rent-movements-for-dwellings.htm.

  • Timmermans, H., Molin, E., & Van Noortwijk, L. (1994). Housing choice processes: Stated versus revealed modelling approaches. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 9, 215–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Visser, P., Van Dam, F., & Hooimeijer, P. (2008). Residential environmental and spatial variation in house prices in the Netherlands. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 99, 348–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weesie, J. (1999). Seemingly unrelated estimation and the cluster-adjusted sandwich estimator. Stata Technical Bulletin, 52, 34–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Withers, S. (1998). Linking household transitions and housing transitions: A longitudinal analysis of renters. Environment and Planning A, 30, 615–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zorlu, A., & Latten, J. (2009). Ethnic sorting in the Netherlands. Urban Studies, 46, 1923–1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P.O. Box 30314, 2500 GH, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Carola de Groot & Dorien Manting

  2. Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Carola de Groot

  3. University of Groningen, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Clara H. Mulder

Authors
  1. Carola de Groot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dorien Manting
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Clara H. Mulder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carola de Groot.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

de Groot, C., Manting, D. & Mulder, C.H. Longitudinal analysis of the formation and realisation of preferences to move into homeownership in the Netherlands. J Hous and the Built Environ 28, 469–488 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-012-9320-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-012-9320-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation