Mortgage down-payment and welfare in a life-cycle model

The paper presents a standard incomplete markets life-cycle model with housing that is calibrated to the Polish economy. The model is used to analyze the effects of changes in the minimum down-payment restriction on welfare. Our analysis shows that tougher credit conditions have a significant impact on the level of household debt, the ownership ratio and the time of first house purchase. However, assuming well functioning rental market the welfare costs are not sizable.