The effect of macroprudential policies on homeownership: Evidence from Switzerland

Abstract

This paper studies how the introduction of macroprudential policies in the Swiss residential mortgage market affected the propensity of households to become homeowners. We exploit a unique administrative data set of individual tax records containing detailed financial and socio-demographic information. We show that the mean share of renter households transitioning into homeownership decreased from 3.4% per year in the five years prior to the introduction of macroprudential policies to 3.0% per year in the five years afterward. This decrease is more pronounced for young and middle-aged households with relatively low income and wealth, suggesting that it is at least partly due to a tightening in borrowing constraints. Moreover, intergenerational transfers in the form of predeath bequests have become more important for homebuying both at the extensive and intensive margin.