Homeownership

Richard Fry and Anna Brown write at Pew:

Even as home values climb back from the dramatic fall that helped set off the Great Recession, homeownership in the United States stands at its lowest level in at least 20 years. As of the third quarter of this year only 63.5% of households own their homes, down significantly from the modern peak of 69.0% reached in 2004.

A Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau and mortgage loan data indicates that the decline in ownership since 2004 has been more pronounced among households headed by young adults, blacks and those in the lower income tier. A substantial portion of the ongoing falloff in homeownership reflects fewer renter households transitioning to homeownership, rather than homeowners being forced out of the market through foreclosure or other financial difficulty.