Employment Research, Vol. 33, No. 1, January 2026

n Housing is the largest single component of most older Americans' wealth portfolios.n Booms or busts in housing prices affect housing wealth and may in turn affect older homeowners' decisions about work and retirement.n Although previous research found that older homeowners worked more when their housing wealth fell, using newer data and modern methods, I find little evidence that changes in housing prices affect this group's work patterns.n However, older homeowners' decisions to start claiming Social Security are sensitive to unexpected changes in housing wealth.People tend to claim earlier when housing prices drop and later when they rise.