High home ownership can seriously damage your labour market, new study shows

the_flying_pig

Only one study of course, but any thoughts?

http://m.phys.org/news/2013-05-high-home-ownership-labour.html

CLAPTON

very interesting read

basically it says that high levels of home ownership lead to higher levels of unemployment because
-lower mobility so people are reluctant to move to areas of higher employment
-longer commuting leading to higher business costs/congestion etc
-lower business formation maybe due to NIMBY resistance to new development

all based on USA data

PasturesNew

High house costs damage the labour market as staff can't afford to look for work more than a couple of miles away because of the high cost of rents. So you're limited to who lives round the corner.

CLAPTON

PasturesNew wrote: »

High house costs damage the labour market as staff can't afford to look for work more than a couple of miles away because of the high cost of rents. So you're limited to who lives round the corner.

if rents are high everywhere why does this stop people looking more than a couple of miles away?

OffGridLiving

CLAPTON wrote: »

very interesting read

basically it says that high levels of home ownership lead to higher levels of unemployment because
-lower mobility so people are reluctant to move to areas of higher employment
-longer commuting leading to higher business costs/congestion etc
-lower business formation maybe due to NIMBY resistance to new development

all based on USA data

Does this apply to a much smaller, densely populated country with good road and rail links? There are some states in the USA that are larger than this country and a lot of their travelling is done via airlines.

CLAPTON

OffGridLiving wrote: »

Does this apply to a much smaller, densely populated country with good road and rail links? There are some states in the USA that are larger than this country and a lot of their travelling is done via airlines.

which country are you thinking of with good road and rail links?

olly300

CLAPTON wrote: »

which country are you thinking of with good road and rail links?

Germany?

the_flying_pig

OffGridLiving wrote: »

Does this apply to a much smaller, densely populated country with good road and rail links? There are some states in the USA that are larger than this country and a lot of their travelling is done via airlines.

well, i mean, I wouldn't see home ownership in, say, Croydon or even Luton as a particular impediment to the labour market given that the London job market is within reach but equally it's obvious that there's very persistently high unemployment in the post-industrial northern cities that can't be solved by people commuting to London but that could be solved by people upping sticks and moving there. is home ownership one of the things that stops this from happening? it's probably a factor, along with several other factors. anecdotal evidnce like this thread certainly suggest that it is.

olly300

the_flying_pig wrote: »

well, i mean, I wouldn't see home ownership in, say, Croydon or even Luton as a particular impediment to the labour market given that the London job market is within reach but equally it's obvious that there's very persistently high unemployment in the post-industrial northern cities that can't be solved by people commuting to London but that could be solved by people upping sticks and moving there. is home ownership one of the things that stops this from happening? it's probably a factor, along with several other factors. anecdotal evidnce like this thread certainly suggest that it is.

Croydon is actually part of Greater London so someone in Croydon refusing to take a job anywhere in London would be penalised by the Job Centre.

There as someone in Luton refusing to take a job in South or East London would probably be fine due to Luton not being in London.

I know when I've signed on they were surprised I was looking at work in the nearby Home Counties even though it's quicker for me travelling there than the other side of London.

wymondham

so with current Government policy to encourage all people to buy then they are in effect reducing the flexibility of the workforce and increasing unemployment?

PasturesNew

CLAPTON wrote: »

if rents are high everywhere why does this stop people looking more than a couple of miles away?

There's no money left over for travel to work.