Leaving home and entering the housing market

We use a multinomial choice model of owning a home, owning a trailer, or renting to examine the housing-market entry of young adults in the USA after they have left the parental home. We also model the choice between renting independently and sharing with roommates. We show that the likelihood of becoming an independent actor in the housing market is closely related to the size and regional location of the housing market. The young adult's resources are an important influence on housing-market entry. Parents' resources seem to be less important as a factor in housing selection. Whereas trailer ownership is more common among the less well educated, couples, and those leaving home to live in the South or in rural areas, sharing is typical for the younger nest leavers, singles, and those leaving home to live in the cities.