Inter-generational support in homeownership and its impacts on life course decisions

Abstract

A popular quote “Success hinges on your father’s deeds” has been spread through the local communities in recent years, showing the heavy reliance of the local young adults on the financial assistance from parents in order to get on the housing ladder. Apart from the low housing affordability, the suppressed wage growth faced by young adults worsens the likelihood of them achieving home ownership, resulting in such strong reliance. Still, a strong desire to live independently via owned housings for marriage, childbearing and other events in the life course are found to be growing instead of fading even after realizing the difficulties ahead. In response to such anticipation, some parents even risk mortgaging their property to finance their children, which makes “Success hinges on your father’s deeds” a problem. On the other hand, as homeownership used to happen along with other major life course events especially marriage, the availability of the inter-generational transfer for home purchase shall impact the progress of other life course events, and those events of the providers who had financed them in purchasing home. Study of the priority, considerations and motives for both the young adults and the funding providers shall be inspirational for analyzing the decision-making mechanism in the transfer process.