WHAT RENTERS NEED FOR HOUSING STABILITY: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF INVOLUNTARY RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

Due to the shortage of affordable housing in the United States, an increasing number of renters are struggling to maintain housing stability. However, few explanations exist for why some renters keep housing in response to increasing-housing-cost burdens where others involuntarily relocate. Applying hybrid models to a nationwide panel dataset, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this study estimates the effects of economic security, mobility, family composition, and personal vulnerabilities on involuntary residential mobility. The findings show that renters are more likely to experience involuntary residential mobility due to job insecurity, a deterioration in health conditions, a lack of savings, an absence of an automobile, living with non-family members, and more children within a family. These findings contribute to understanding variations in ability to maintain housing stability in the private housing market that is increasingly tight and inform housing researchers, policymakers, and local practitioners seeking the most effective intervention for preventing housing instability and its negative consequences.