Thursday, April 28, 2016

First-Time Homebuyer Watch: 1st Quarter 2016

Homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34, first quarter 2016: 45.7%

The homeownership rate of households headed by people aged 30 to 34 fell in the first quarter of 2016 to 45.7 percent, down slightly from the 45.9 percent of the fourth quarter of 2015 and nearly identical to the 45.8 percent of one year ago. The absence of a significant trend in the homeownership rate of 30-to-34-year-olds over the past year suggests an end to the long-term decline in the homeownership rate of the age group.   

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 first quarter of 2016 the homeownership rate of 35-to-39-year-olds was 55.3 percent, slightly above the all-time low of 55.1 percent 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 first quarter of 2016, down from 63.7 percent a year earlier.

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancy Survey

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