Historically Low Homeownership Rate Reaches Highest Level in Three Years

The U.S. homeownership rate hit its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2014, per Census Bureau homeownership data, up slightly to 64.2 percent in the fourth quarter from 63.7 percent the year before and 63.9 percent in the third quarter.

“After bouncing around near 50-year lows for the past few years, the national homeownership rate finally seems to be gaining sustainable, meaningful upward momentum,” Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas told HousingWire. He added, “The fourth quarter of 2017 was unseasonably strong, driven by buyers determined to make a deal in a highly competitive market. For would-be buyers struggling to save for a down payment ... changes in the tax code that potentially put more money in their pockets could be the push they need to move out of an apartment and into a first home.”

Among the non-Hispanic white population, the homeownership rate increased from 72.5 percent in the third quarter to 72.7 percent in the fourth quarter. However, homeownership rates for other ethnicities are much lower. The black homeownership rate increased 0.1 percentage point, but remains far below average at 42.1 percent in the fourth quarter. The Hispanic homeownership rate saw the highest increase, rising .5 percentage points to 46.6 percent. 

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