Impact of House Price Appreciation on Portfolio Composition and Savings

Recent Fed. policy initiatives have sought to aggressively boost homeownership in the U.S., such as the American Dream ActÓ that provides down payment assistance for low-income & first time home buyers & regulations calling for a significant increase in the percentage of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac lending that must be targeted at underserved borrowers & communities. This report answers 2 questions: (1) To what extent do households save or consume in response to house price appreciation (HPA)? (2) How does HPA affect household portfolios of assets & debts? Uses data from the Survey of Consumer Finances from 1983 to 2001. Results from the analysis provide support for both views of the impact of HPA on savings & consumption. Charts & tables.Haurin, Donald R. is the author of 'Impact of House Price Appreciation on Portfolio Composition and Savings', published 2005 under ISBN 9781422301081 and ISBN 1422301087.