MAG 2025. Authors: Niels Broekman, Stéfanie André (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen – Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen), Caroline Dewilde (Tilburg University – Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences).
In the past decades, housing(market) policy and regulation have become ever more prominent features of advanced welfare democracies. House price increases changed houses into an asset class, besides being a home to live in. Furthermore, it made homeowners an important constituency for governments to turn to. However, the question is if house prices indeed drive political preferences, trust and participation. Especially when owned homeownership has become unaffordable and unreachable for many younger and lower-income households. In this study we want to test whether housing histories affect preferences for government intervention in the housing market, changes in political trust and political participation. This increases our understanding of political preferences and behavior among different socio-economic groups which are not only defined by income, but also by wealth. This will provide valuable insights for policymakers navigating the challenges of an increasingly polarized housing market.