Family formation, parental background and young adults’ first entry into homeownership in Britain and Germany

《Family formation, parental background and young adults’ first entry into homeownership in Britain and Germany》

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作者单位: Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK; ;Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK; ;Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Cologne, 50939 Cologne, Germany; ;Centre for Demographic Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Ca n’Altayo, Edifici E2, 08193, Bellaterra/Barcelona, Spain

摘要: Although previous research shows that family dynamics and parental socioeconomic status influence the timing of young adults’ first entry into homeownership, much less is known about how the role of family factors may vary across countries with different housing systems. In this article, we use panel survey data from Britain and Germany to compare how family life course careers and parental socioeconomic background influence young adults’ initial entry into homeownership in these two divergent national contexts. The results show that in Britain, first-time homeownership transitions are tightly synchronized with partnership formation. By contrast, in Germany first moves into homeownership typically occur later around or after the arrival of children. Parental owner-occupation accelerates entry into homeownership in both contexts, while the effects of other parental characteristics are relatively muted. Furthermore, the results highlight how individual socioeconomic factors are critical determinants of entering owner-occupation. This is particularly true in Britain where there is a strong socioeconomic gradient in first-time homeownership transitions.