The geography of residential turnover in twenty-seven large US metropolitan housing markets, 1985-95

Previous research on variations in mobility rates across metropolitan areas , documented the link between immigration and local mobility, and the way i n which local mobility creates 'hot' and 'cold' housing markets, The resear ch in this paper confirms and extends those analyses by examining the inter play between the relocation process and the structure of metropolitan housi ng markets. The results show that more than three-quarters of the turnover is generated by renters and most of this by households under 35 years of ag e. It also shows that variations in mobility rates can be predicted by vari ations in new construction, though it is clear that ultimately it is the un derlying population growth which is the critical variable. House prices als o vary across metropolitan areas and are influenced by city size, but the m ajor determinants of variation in house prices are household income (a meas ure of upward pressure on prices) and the tenure structure of the local mar ket. The results show that turnover per se is at least as important as pric e in creating opportunities for tenure change and residential relocation.