Tag Archives: Homeownership Rate

As the U.S. homeownership rate continues to dwell near its lowest level in two decades, a new study from Zillow suggests more than five million additional households are waiting in the wings to step into the market as the economic recovery trudges forward.

According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the homeownership rate last quarter fell to 64.4 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from Q2 and nearly a full percentage point from the same quarter last year. The last time homeownership in the country was this low was in the first quarter of 1995.

In a quarterly survey conducted by Zillow and Pulsenomics, a panel of economists, real estate experts, and market strategists agreed that the median age of first-time homebuyers is likely to keep moving up in the next decade as millennials wait until later in their lives to purchase. Among the more than 100 experts polled, a combined 85 percent said they expect the median first-time homebuyer age to rise at least marginally in the coming years.

According to an estimate from the Census Bureau, the U.S. homeownership rate was 64.7 percent in the second quarter, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the first quarter's previous low and 0.3 percentage points from the same time last year. It was the lowest rate since 1995. Homeownership continued to slide among the millennial age group, who find themselves burdened by high debt, tight credit conditions, and limited job prospects.

The percentage of older Americans with outstanding mortgage debt has increased since the start of the housing crisis, according to a report released Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In fact, according to the bureau, about half of retired seniors with mortgage debt pay more than 30 percent of their household income on housing costs.

According to figures released by the Census Bureau Tuesday, homeownership dropped last quarter to a rate of 64.8 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than Q4 2013 and the lowest rate since the third quarter of 1995. Quarter-to-quarter, homeownership was down in all regions except the West, though at 59.4 percent, it remains lower in that region than in any other.

On Thursday afternoon, MReport hosted its first-ever Live Twitter Chat, in which industry experts answer questions from all comers. Joining us for the first session was Rick Sharga, EVP for Auction.com and one of the preeminent voices in the housing industry today. In case you weren't able to make it, we recapped just a few of the topics tackled in the discussion.