HOUSE PRICES AND MARITAL STABILITY (By Farnham & Schmidt)

[Román Culebro Martínez]

HousingPricesAndMaritalStability.pdf

"We investigate the effect of house price changes on MSA-level divorce rates using data for 1991-2010 from the Current Population Survey and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Our findings suggest that changing house prices significantly affect divorce rates, and that these effects are assymmetric with respect to housing gains versus losses. In adttion, we find differential effects for groups that are more likely to be homeowners versus renters. some of this evidence is consistent with homeowners being locked into their homes by increased trasactions costs in down markets."

[Nathan Och]

So, it would be prudent to say that a form of uncertainty surrounding the housing market is due to the volatility in aggregate marital stability?