Thursday, October 27, 2016

First-Time Homebuyer Watch: 3rd Quarter 2016

Homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34, third quarter 2016: 45.6%

The homeownership rate of households headed by people aged 30 to 34 increased in the third quarter of 2016. Unfortunately, the increase was not much to write home about. The 45.6 percent third-quarter homeownership rate was above the all-time low of 44.8 percent in the second quarter of 2016, but still 1.2 percentage points below the 46.8 percent of a year ago. Is this uptick the beginning of a rise in homeownership for the age group or just another bobble? The age group's homeownership rate has been falling fairly steadily for almost a decade.  

Historically, homeownership became the norm in the 30-to-34 age group—rising above 50 percent. But beginning in 2007, the homeownership rate of 30-to-34-year-olds went into a tailspin. In the second quarter of 2011, the rate fell below 50 percent for the first time. It's been stuck there ever since. The new age of first-time home buying is 35 to 39, but even this age group has been slipping toward the 50-percent threshold. In the third quarter of 2016 the homeownership rate of 35-to-39-year-olds was 55.6 percent, not far above the all-time low of 55.1 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2015. The homeownership rate of 35-to-39-year-olds peaked in the first quarter of 2007 at 65.7 percent.

Nationally, the homeownership rate was 63.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, not much different from the 63.7 percent of a year earlier.

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancy Survey

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