Housing affordability and parental income support: The role of mortgage co-signing☆

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Allen, Jason; Carmichael, Kyra; Clark, Robert; Li, Shaoteng; Vincent, Nicolas
• 署名单位: University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; Northwestern University; University of Toronto; Bank of Canada; Universite de Montreal; HEC Montreal
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2026.104239
• 发表日期: 2026-04
• 页码: 104239
• 关键词: housing; mortgages; Parental support; household finance; borrowing constraints; transfers

摘要

In many countries, the cost of housing has greatly outpaced income growth, leading to an affordability crisis. Leveraging Canadian loan-level data, we document an increasing reliance of first-time home-buyers on financial help from their parents through mortgage co-signing. We show that parental support can effectively relax the borrowing constraints of their adult children, and allow them to enter the housing market early. However, we also identify a novel channel through which parental support could increase borrower vulnerabilities. Cosigning incentivizes adult children to lever up and purchase housing beyond what they can afford, exposing them to a greater risk of financial stress.