The Importance of Housing for the Elderly in Spain

Abstract

Contrary to the standard life-cycle model, it has been observed that individuals not only do not reduce their level of savings during retirement but also reduce their consumption. In this paper, we review the most important aspects of the use of housing in the saving behaviour of households and as an option to complement the retirement period. Spain is one of the countries where homeownership is most important, so throughout the paper we will analyze the main socio-demographic factors that affect homeownership for the elder Spanish population. Moreover, at the beginning of the century, Spain, like the rest of the world, experienced a speculative attack on the real estate market that could have had an effect on the homeownership behaviour of retirees . To analyze this, we will carry out a comparative study between the homeownership rate before and after the crisis