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Homeownership Rate Falls for First Time in Years
April 29, 2019
The percentage of Americans who own home decreased in the first quarter of the year, exacerbating concerns about the sector’s sluggish growth. The homeownership rate in the first three months of the year was 64.2 percent, down from 64.8 percent in Q4 2018. The drop is considered to be a large one for a metric that generally sees little movement from one quarter to the next. Homeownership has not decreased since 2017.
Homeownership saw a decade of steady decline following the housing collapse before beginning to pick up in 2017. The homeownership rate is driven by young people making the transition from renting to owning. Increases in mortgage rates and a lack of affordable homes have made that transition difficult. The rate of homeownership for Americans under the age of 35 saw a steep decline, falling to 35.4 percent for the quarter, down from 36.5 percent in the previous quarter.
