Equity Inequity: Housing Wealth Inequality, Inter and Intra-generational Divergences, and the Rise of Private Landlordism

Abstract

There is much evidence of rising inequalities across advanced economies. This paper argues for the special position of housing equity in inequality dynamics while challenging a persistent "ideology of mass homeownership" as a widespread and equalizing mechanism of asset accumulation. Contemporary dynamics of diminished homeownership access contrast to the continued attractiveness of real estate among those with capital and recent growths in private landlordism. The research presents an explorative examination of the housing wealth dimension of inequality through the British case and assesses empirically the dimensions of: equity concentration, inter and intra-generational divergences, and the role of private landlordism. The research points to the starkly concentrated nature of housing equity and significant trends towards increasing disparities, with especially disadvantaged prospects among younger cohorts. The recent emergence of a substantial secondary rental-property market presents a further key dimension of wealth concentration. The research underscores the fundamental inequality of housing equity and brings into question rooted ideologies of housing-asset-based economic security in an era of individualized welfare responsibility.

Intersections of inequality in homeownership in Sweden

“…One of the first studies to show this longitudinal decline was Forrest et al (2003), for Japan. Among other national case-study examples, Kurz & Blossfeld (2004) have found the same trend for France, Denmark and Spain, Yates & Bradbury (2010) for Australia, and both Arundel (2017) and Udagawa & Sanderson (2017) for the United Kingdom. In all these countries, younger people have for some time now been entering homeownership in relatively smaller numbers.…”

“…177-178), developments of the new millennium have largely disabused researchers of this view. The ownership of housing, which tends to be the largest component of household wealth in such societies, has over the past two decades become increasingly concentrated (Appleyard & Rowlingson, 2010;Arundel, 2017;Di, 2005); and, crucially, housing wealth tends to be closely correlated with other types of wealth (e.g. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2010).…”

From a culture of homeownership to generation rent: housing discourses of young adults in Spain

“…New housing market dynamics and tenure preferences could promote stronger orientation towards urban centres. More broadly, a discursive and practiced shift away from (or delay of) homeownership among certain groups has potentially important implications towards unequal patterns of wealth accumulation in the long-run (Arundel 2017). Lastly, the analysis also emphasizes the importance of how specific cultural, economic and housing contexts frame discourses surrounding tenure and lifecourse transitions.…”

Resurgent landlordism in a student city: urban dynamics of private rental growth

“…This is complimented by digital developments which have facilitated managing diverse and scattered housing portfolios (Fields, 2019;Mills et al, 2019). Alongside institutional players, we see a cohort of homeownerspredominantly olderhaving accumulated substantial (housing) wealth, able to mobilize their assets to acquire additional property to rent out (Arundel, 2017;Ronald & Kadi, 2018). This can be as a commercial activity to supplement retirement income, but also a basis for intergenerational support on the housing market.…”

“…These studies have theorized this development, often from a political-economy perspective. They cite macro-economic developments such as historically low interest rates, deregulatory housing policies and wealth concentration among already affluent households as drivers of increased investment in rental housing, embedded within a broader framework of housing financialization (Arundel, 2017;Fields, 2018;Kemp, 2015;Leyshon & French, 2009). Other studies highlight the growing demand for private-rental housing from specific population groups unable to afford the structurally inflated prices for homeownership (Coulter, 2017;Lennartz et al, 2016).…”