Boston Sullivan | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: Boston Sullivan
Title: Buy High, Sell Higher? A Descriptive and Time-series Analysis of Housing Affordability by Generation in Ohio
Major: Statistical and Data Sciences
惭颈苍辞谤:听Economics
Advisor: Joseph Smith
The United States housing market has changed drastically in the past two decades, but literature on housing regularly studies past trends rather than where current affordability is heading. Changes in housing affordability shape the extent in which families can withstand financial hardship and benefit from housing as a source of wealth accumulation. This thesis presents a descriptive and quasi-experimental analysis of housing affordability in Ohio from 2005 to 2023, using mean difference tests, difference-in-differences models, and event study analysis to examine changes in income, interest rates, housing costs, and other key measures of affordability across city groups. The analysis combines housing price data from Zillow, demographic and income data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and interest rate data from the Federal Reserve Economic Data database. The results are consistent with a user cost framework in which financial constraints, limited housing supply growth, and rising housing prices have contributed to greater barriers to homeownership.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
