(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-05-12)
Sirow, Gabrielle
In this paper we explore the effects of the subprime mortgage boom from 2001 to 2005 and the subprime mortgage bust from 2005 to 2008 on the probability of homeownership of naturalized immigrant, non-naturalized immigrant and native US citizen households. Consistent with our predictions, we find that from 2001 to 2005 naturalized and non-naturalized immigrant households increased their probability of homeownership relative to natives by 3.8% and 5.3%, respectively. Then from 2005 to 2008 naturalized and non-naturalized immigrant households decreased their probability of homeownership relative to natives by 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively. Additionally, we find that continent of birth and whether the head of household is self-employed are important predictors of homeownership for immigrants.