Does new housing for the rich benefit the poor? On trickle-down effects of new homes

We use microdata on the Swedish population and housing stock (1990–2017) to investigate how building new homes affects the housing distribution across income groups. While primarily rich people move into new homes, poor people are well represented among in-movers to vacated homes. As homes age and deteriorate, they filter down to poor people; it takes approximately 30 years for new homes to reach an even income distribution. We also find that in municipalities with higher construction rates, every income group gets better access to newer housing and housing space. Overall, we conclude that new homes, even those initially primarily inhabited by rich people, lead to substantial trickle-down effects that also benefit the poor.