Home-ownership, unemployed's job search behavior and post-unemployment outcomes

- We examine the effect of home-ownership using detailed survey information on a fresh sample of entries into unemployment.
- Home-ownership does restrict the geographic area in which unemployed search for a new job.
- Homeowners do not compensate this restriction by more intensive or different search behavior.
- Future employment prospects are not negatively affected by home-ownership.
- Home-owning unemployed find better quality re-employment jobs than their renting counterparts.

Using detailed German survey data, we show that home-owners freshly entering unemployment are less geographically mobile than their renting counterparts. However, they do not compensate their restricted mobility by more intensive or different search behavior and do not face negative effects on labor market outcomes one year later.