Labour-Market Insecurity and Risk in the Owner-Occupied Housing Market

Abstract

The author explores the extent to which labour-market insecurity affects behaviour in the owner-occupied housing market. Drawing on related qualitative and quantitative survey evidence, the author first argues that owner-occupiers have experienced and also perceive considerable labour-market insecurity. However, analysis of the large-scale survey suggests only weak linkages between indicators of insecurity and the choices that owners make in the housing market. This apparent inconsistency is explored with the aid of the qualitative data which suggest that perception of insecurity and attitude to risk intersect to create strategies that may not bear any direct connection to measurable and objective labour-market characteristics or risks. The author concludes by arguing that this evidence suggests that the current policy aim of leaving owners to insure themselves against labour-market risk will leave some owners unprotected, and that this gap is likely to persist in the long term.