ABSTRACTIssues surrounding the financial benefits of owner occupation and how these are related to a variety of socioeconomic and geographical factors are examined through the development of a microsimulation model of the U.K. housing market. Of particular interest are the ways in which different government subsidies accrue to different types of households over time. The model has been implemented for two U.K. regions and simulations performed over a ten year historic period. Results showing the wide variation in household experience are presented.