Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life
In an era of population ageing, the primary home is increasingly viewed as a personal resource that can perform a pension role in retirement. This article assesses the extent to which Australians aged 45 years and over withdraw housing equity through in situ mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), downsiz...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Routledge
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18842 |
| _version_ | 1848749862430965760 |
|---|---|
| author | Ong, Rachel Wood, G. Austen, Siobhan Jefferson, Therese Haffner, M. |
| author_facet | Ong, Rachel Wood, G. Austen, Siobhan Jefferson, Therese Haffner, M. |
| author_sort | Ong, Rachel |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In an era of population ageing, the primary home is increasingly viewed as a personal resource that can perform a pension role in retirement. This article assesses the extent to which Australians aged 45 years and over withdraw housing equity through in situ mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), downsizing and selling up. We find that the incidence of housing equity withdrawal has increased over the last decade despite a global financial crisis. MEW is the dominant form of equity release among those under pension age, while downsizing or selling up is more frequent among those above pension age. Downsizing and selling up are more likely to be prompted by adverse life events than MEW. Selling up is typically an option of last resort. Our findings offer insights into important debates around homeownership societies and the welfare role performed by owner-occupied housing in mid-to-late life. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:27:41Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-18842 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:27:41Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-188422017-09-13T16:03:16Z Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life Ong, Rachel Wood, G. Austen, Siobhan Jefferson, Therese Haffner, M. Downsizing Mortgage equity withdrawal Selling up Housing equity withdrawal In an era of population ageing, the primary home is increasingly viewed as a personal resource that can perform a pension role in retirement. This article assesses the extent to which Australians aged 45 years and over withdraw housing equity through in situ mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), downsizing and selling up. We find that the incidence of housing equity withdrawal has increased over the last decade despite a global financial crisis. MEW is the dominant form of equity release among those under pension age, while downsizing or selling up is more frequent among those above pension age. Downsizing and selling up are more likely to be prompted by adverse life events than MEW. Selling up is typically an option of last resort. Our findings offer insights into important debates around homeownership societies and the welfare role performed by owner-occupied housing in mid-to-late life. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18842 10.1080/02673037.2015.1009875 Routledge restricted |
| spellingShingle | Downsizing Mortgage equity withdrawal Selling up Housing equity withdrawal Ong, Rachel Wood, G. Austen, Siobhan Jefferson, Therese Haffner, M. Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title | Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title_full | Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title_fullStr | Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title_full_unstemmed | Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title_short | Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence, Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life |
| title_sort | housing equity withdrawal in australia: prevalence, patterns and motivations in mid-to-late life |
| topic | Downsizing Mortgage equity withdrawal Selling up Housing equity withdrawal |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18842 |