How important is housing market activity for durables spending?

The links between the housing market and consumer spending have been the source of much debate. In this article we examine the evidence for a link between housing transactions and consumer spending, which could exist if households were more likely to purchase some goods and services when they move h...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bank of England quarterly bulletin 2005-07, Vol.45 (2), p.153-159
Main Authors: Benito, Andrew, Wood, Rob
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consumer behavior
Consumer behaviour
Consumer expenditure
Consumer spending
Consumption
Correlation analysis
Durable goods
Estimation
Expenditures
Households
Housing
Housing market
Housing prices
Purchasing
Real estate
Regression analysis
Studies
United Kingdom
Washers & dryers
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The links between the housing market and consumer spending have been the source of much debate. In this article we examine the evidence for a link between housing transactions and consumer spending, which could exist if households were more likely to purchase some goods and services when they move home. Using survey data from the British Household Panel Survey we find that households are two to three times more likely to purchase certain durable goods when they move home. But those households that move home are a small proportion of all households: so in aggregate a change in housing transactions seems likely to have only a moderate impact on durables spending. Estimates of the extent of the overall effect are, however, subject to considerable uncertainty. Furthermore, any such link can only affect spending in the short run and cannot influence consumer spending in the medium term. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0005-5166
2399-4568