The Demand for Housing, Household Headship Rates, and Household Formation: An International Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of availability and affordability of housing on demographic changes through an international analysis of the relationship between age specific headship rates and housing availability and affordability. The researchers describe the basic trends in household formation and headship rates in Canada, France, Great Britain and the United States, investigate the economic determinants of age specific household headship rates in the four countries, and discuss the implications for future housing analysis. It was found that the considerable increase in household headship rate during the recent postwar period has been facilitated in these four countries by the increasing real affordability of housing. In addition, there was a clear relationship between the household age category and the responsiveness to economic variables.