U.S. Homeownership Rate Rises to Highest Point in 8 Years
According to the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS), the U.S. homeownership rate has reached 65.3% in the first quarter of 2020. This number has been rising since 2016 and is the highest we’ve seen in eight years.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) explains the rate increase:
“Strong owner household formation with around 2.7 million homeowners added in the first quarter has driven up the homeownership rate, especially under the decreasing mortgage interest rates and strong new home sales and existing home sales in the first two months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy.”
Additionally, the NAHB also highlights the year-over-year increase in each generational group:
“The homeownership rates among all age groups increased in the first quarter 2020. Households under 35, mostly first-time homebuyers, registered the largest gains, with the homeownership rate up 1.9 percentage points from a year ago. Households ages 35-44 experienced a 1.2 percentage points gain, followed by the 55-64 age group (a 0.9 percentage point increase), the 45-54 age group (a 0.8 percentage point gain), and the 65+ group age (up by 0.2 percentage point).”
