Homeownership Datapoint of the Day

A study of several major developed economies between 1960 and 1996, by the British economist Andrew Oswald, found a strong relationship between increases in homeownership and increases in the unemployment rate; a ten-per-cent increase in homeownership correlated with a two-per-cent increase in unemployment. (In the U.S., it may be worth noting, the states that have the highest unemployment rates--states like Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi--are also among those with the highest homeownership rates.)

(For those of you who weren't reading the blog in September, I had a series of posts on the downside of homeownership here, here, and here.)

Posted by Felix at 14:11 EST