My House or Our House? Entry into Sole Homeownership in British Couples

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Relationship Dissolution and Transitions

Abstract

Instead of assuming that both partners in couples own their homes jointly as is usually done in research on wealth, we examine the individual ownership configurations within couples in Britain. Using longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (1992-2008) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2010-2011) with event history analysis and panel regression models we answer two research questions: (1) How frequent is homeownership by only one partner, i.e. sole homeownership, in British couples? (2) What determines the entry into sole homeownership? We find that in 14% of couples that live in owner-occupancy only one partner owns the home. These homes are of lower housing quality on average. For partnered individuals, transitions into sole homeownership are more likely with more economic resources and with step children living in the home. The chances to enter into sole homeownership are reduced with longer partnership durations and for those married compared to cohabitants. Sole homeownership is more likely after marital divorce and sole homeownership is positively associated with having owned before the current partnership was formed.

Authors

• Philipp Lersch, University of Cologne

• Sergi Vidal, University of Queensland