Study: You Live Longer If Owning Home

New research shows homeownership adds to life expectancy for early twentieth-century Black and White male Americans, with social and psychological benefits outweighing property value.

Dr. Casey Breen, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, conducted the study, published in Demography.

The study found that homeownership was associated with 0.36 years of additional life expectancy for Black male Americans who were born in the early twentieth century, and 0.42 years for their White counterparts.

Dr. Casey Breen said “My study finds homeownership has a meaningful positive impact on life expectancy. These results suggest that social policies that equitably expand homeownership opportunities for Black Americans may help narrow the gap between Black and White male life expectancy in the US.”

According to the study, expanding homeownership opportunities for racial minorities could help mitigate the profound racial disparities in mortality the US is currently experiencing. The study also highlights significant disparities in homeownership rates in the twentieth century, with White Americans being almost twice as likely to own a house than Black Americans. Due to systemic historical issues such as slavery and racism, Black Americans had far fewer opportunities to own their home in 1940 with fewer than 10% doing so between the ages of 18–25 in 1940, and only 40% over the age of 65 owning their homes.

Using data from the 1920 and 1940 census records that were linked to social security mortality records, and a sibling-based identification strategy, the study was able to analyse the different outcomes in life expectancy for American male adults owning a home between the ages of 24 and 35.

While owning a home as opposed to renting can help in the accumulation of wealth, and is associated with better health and living longer, the study found that the property’s value had very little impact on life expectancy. The study also discusses other reasons for this increase in life expectancy for homeowners including a stronger social community, the psychological benefits of homeownership, and better living conditions.

Dr. Casey Breen said “This study also shows that there is a meaningful, statistically significant difference in life expectancy between Americans owning their home and those who rent, with homeowners in early adulthood living approximately six months longer at age 65 than those who rent.”

The study controlled for factors such as education attainment, race, income, marital status, and shared family background to provide a snapshot of how US homeownership affected life expectancy in the twentieth century. However, it is important to note that the sample was restricted in terms of gender, ethnicity, nationality, and historical context, and is unlikely to be representative of other populations.

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