First-Time Homebuyer Watch: 2nd Quarter 2011

Homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34, second quarter 2011: 49.5%

It happened. The homeownership rate of the all-important 30-to-34 age group fell below 50 percent in the 2nd quarter of 2011, according to the Census Bureau's Housing Vacancy Survey. Typically, the majority of householders become homeowners in their early thirties. That may no longer be the case as young adults decide homeownership is not for them--at least not until the housing market bottoms out and job security improves. 

The quarterly homeownership rate of 30-to-34-year-olds has fallen below 50 percent only one other time--the 2nd quarter of 1994, when only 49.6 percent of 30-to-34-year-olds owned a home. The figure peaked at 58.0 percent in the 4th quarter of 2004. The quarterly number released today is a record low for the age group. Bottom line: Young adults are reluctant to buy. Some cannot afford the downpayment, others cannot get a mortgage, and many do not want to be stuck with a white elephant.  

To see the First-Time Homebuyer Watch for 1st Quarter 2011, click here.

Source: Bureau of the Census, Housing Vacancy Survey