The benefits and risks of home ownership for low-moderate income households

The study emanated from a concern that popular and political support for home ownership is such that critical questions about the degree to which all home owners realise the projected financial and non-financial benefits of home ownership are rarely asked. In particular, do low-moderate income households gain the same benefits as households on middle and higher incomes, and irrespective of where they buy, or are these benefits offset by additional financial risks, including high mortgage burdens, reduced ability to accumulate wealth, locational constraints, and having to sell at a loss if a household moves in the early years of purchase? The US sub-prime housing crisis and its broader implications for national and global financial systems has generated much more attention to the financial and non-financial risks associated with home ownership than previously. This study with its detailed analysis of the benefits and risks of home ownership for low-moderate income households has the capacity to inform housing policy in the post-global financial crisis contex