ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of intergenerational wealth transfer in housing outcomes. Intergenerational wealth transfer involves the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next. such as through gifts, loans, and other forms of assistance. Prior studies have found a link between the type and level of housing support provided by the parents and children’s economic outcomes in the housing market. This chapter focuses on potential forms of social stratification that can arise in housing markets due to integernerational wealth transfer, namely how this process may affect housing affordability. The author relies on survey data collected in the USA and Canada to draw findings on this topic. Participants receiving and not receiving parental support for a downpayment above the mean had similar demographic characteristics. Help from parents appears to allow otherwise equivalent owners to acquire more mortgage debt and thus increase their housing demand. Parental support does not seem prompted by affordability concerns, since owners receiving support are purchasing more expensive homes. These relationships did not vary noticeably by geography.
