ABSTRACT
This chapter tests whether low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners and renters have different drivers of housing satisfaction due to two things: the different interests they have in their residences and their differing capacities to advance these interests. Renters and owners both have a use-interest in their property; however, homeowners are able to advance this interest through control over their living space. Homeowners also have a financial interest in their property, and this interest may drive their housing satisfaction. Using data from the Community Advantage Program Survey (CAPS), a unique dataset of LMI American homeowners and renters living in similar neighborhoods, we create OLS regression models to test whether the factors that impact housing satisfaction are different between owners and renters. We find that both owners and renters are affected by their dwelling’s physical characteristics, and there is some evidence that homeowners may be more affected by neighborhood conditions. However, the evidence from our analysis is mixed.
