Residential mobility and spatial sorting in Stockholm 1990-2014: the changing importance of housing tenure and income

Abstract

In this paper an analysis of residential mobility and sorting by income and housing tenure in Stockholm is carried out. The study contrasts two periods: one (1990-2001) characterised by recovery after the economic crisis in 1991-1992 and one (2002-2014) characterised by large changes to the housing stock composition. With the use of a longitudinal full population data set, it is shown that the socioeconomic composition of movers is relatively stable over time, while the economic sorting of movers increases. People with low income are increasingly likely to move into low-income neighbourhoods, whether they move into the rental or owner segments of the housing market. Those who own their housing unit and mid- to high-income earners increasingly avoid moving to low-income neighbourhoods. The paper concludes that the increasingly owner-dominated housing market in Stockholm contributes to stronger socio-spatial residential patterns through the economic sorting of movers across the whole income scale.