Parental Status and Child's Home Ownership

This paper explores the relation of parents' status to their children's home ownership. Home ownership by parents increases the probability of a child's home ownership. Parents' income is positively associated with the value of children's homes among owners, though it has no effect on probability of ownership. The effect of parents' income on home value is mediated by the level of gifts among black households and by parents' home value among whites. It is argued that gifts may measure direct aid and parental home value may measure a young person's expectations concerning appropriate housing standards. Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.