Wellbeing and Housing Report Supplement

Philip Garboden, Inessa Love, Working Papers

RESEARCH PAPERS ARE PRELIMINARY MATERIALS CIRCULATED TO STIMULATE DISCUSSION AND CRITICAL COMMENT. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS. WHILE RESEARCH PAPERS BENEFIT FROM ACTIVE UHERO DISCUSSION, THEY HAVE NOT UNDERGONE FORMAL ACADEMIC PEER REVIEW.

The goal of this report is to summarize how neighborhood housing price appreciation can impact quality of life beyond individual level impacts (see Love and Garboden 2019). We first discuss how housing market indicators, particularly appreciation, can be measured and summarize different patterns across Hawaii. In answer to our our main question, we find few statistically significant associations between these measures and well-being. Data limitations, however, restrict our ability to assert a null effect. We conclude with next steps for research.