US Homeowner Population Declines For First Time Since 2016

With growing home prices, the number of homeowner households in the U.S. is falling. According to real estate marketing platform Redfin, the number of homeowner households in the U.S. fell by 0.1% year-over-year to just 86.2 million as of Q-2 2025. While this decrease is slight, it’s the first time since 2016 that the homeowner population has declined. Comparatively, the number of renter households grew by 2.6% to an estimated 46.4 million.

The decline in homeowner households brought the homeownership rate to 65% in Q-2 2025, compared with 65.6% a year ago. Comparatively, the rentership rate grew to 35%, up slightly from 34.4% a year earlier.

“America’s homeowner population is no longer growing because rising home prices, high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty have made it increasingly difficult to own a home,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research. “People are also getting married and starting families later, which means they’re buying homes later—another factor that may be at play.”