Be it Ever so Humble: Understanding Housing Using Subjective Well-Being Data

This paper presents new evidence on the utility – or well-being – derived from housing. There are three areas of focus: 1) how people feel at home versus outside home and if there is a positive athome differential, especially with respect to housing as a complementary good to family life; 2) whether well-being related to housing consumption varies by home values and homeownership status; and 3) if and how neighborhood home prices relate to home related well-being measures.