A Mathematical Model of the Housing Decisions of Elderly Homeowners

This article presents a mathematical model that attempts to capture the factors that are most important in determining an elderly homeowner's housing decision. The factors considered include the homeowner's home equity, financial assets, income, housing cost, and psychological attachment to the home. The findings indicate that the various factors may have quite different effects across the varied housing actions that the elderly may take. This suggests that any empirical analysis regarding the home ownership decisions of the elderly needs to distinguish among the different actions that the elderly can take.