In this paper, we analyze the saving motives of European households using micro-data from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), which is conducted by the European Central Bank. We find that the rank ordering of saving motives differs greatly depending on what criterion is used to...

We use a model and show how inflation and mortgage loans based on nominal interest rates (NRMs), like FRMs, ARMs or IOs, are a source of instability for housing markets. NRMs allocate risk inappropriately and cause economic tensions due to the tilt effect (Lessard and Modigliani, 1975), the...

The tenure decision upon whether to buy or to rent accommodation has long-term consequences for households' financial wellbeing that influence macroeconomic development and stability when the cumulative effects of individual decisions are aggregated across populations. The author explains how...

This paper investigates the incentives of agents working with buyers (buying agents) under the fixed percentage commission system (FPCS) and the implications on housing market outcomes. Our model shows that the FPCS without a binding contract between the buyer and the buying agent could produce...

This theoretical paper extends the useful work of Sevelka (2004) concerning the equivalence between discount rate and capitalization rate. The extension concerns two main points. First, it frames this relation within a clear theoretical framework, that starts from the net present value and goes...

This paper investigates the impact of complaints against agents on agents’ incentives in housing transactions. Our model shows that complaints incentivize an agent to exert greater efforts and mitigate the conflict of interest due to the agent’s concern for reputation and future career. Our...

We study a series of growth models in which households' preferences display `jealousy' or `external habits': a negative dependence on average consumption. We argue that accounting for consumption externalities in growth models requires consideration of both their static and dynamic effects. In a...

We study a series of sustained growth models in which households' preferences are affected by the consumption of other households as summarized by average consumption. In endogenous growth models, the equilibrium paths involve lower savings and lower growth than the corresponding efficient...

This paper analyses the default option typical to American mortgages. Households borrow to buy durable housing, but future house prices are uncertain, and households find it dvantageous to default on their debt if house prices fall sufficiently. A key assumption of the model is that households...

This paper analyses the default option typical to American mortgages. Households borrow to buy durable housing, but future house prices are uncertain, and households find it dvantageous to default on their debt if house prices fall sufficiently. A key assumption of the model is that households...