First Quarter 2012 Homeownership Rates

Overall, 65.1 percent of households owned their home in the 1st quarter of 2012, according to the Census Bureau. The homeownership rate fell 1 percentage point between the first quarters of 2011 and 2012. Here are the important findings from today's 1st quarter 2012 data release...

• Over the past year, the homeownership rate fell in all but one age group, and the increase among 70-to-74-year-olds was within the margin of error. 
• The biggest homeownership rate decline over the past four quarters has been among householders aged 35 to 39, their homeownership rate falling by 4.4 percentage points to 56.4 percent.
• Fewer than half of householders aged 30 to 34 are homeowners (48.3 percent, down from an annual high of 57.4 percent in 2004), and their sharply lower homeownership rate is being carried into the next older age group as they enter their late thirties.
• The only good news for the housing industry is the apparent stability in the homeownership rate of householders aged 25 to 29. At 34.2 percent in the 1st quarter of 2012, the homeownership rate of this age group has barely budged for the past three quarters. Historically (with data going back to 1982), the annual homeownership rate 25-to-29-year-olds bottomed out at 33.6 percent in 1992 and 1993 and peaked at 41.8 percent in 2006.  

Source: Bureau of the Census, Housing Vacancy Survey

First-Time Homebuyer Watch: 1st Quarter, 2012

Homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34, first quarter 2012: 48.3%

The 1st quarter homeownership rate of householders aged 30 to 34 was 48.3 percent, well below the 50 percent threshold and 2 percentage points lower than a year earlier. This matters because the homeownership rate of the 30-to-34 age group is the bellwether for the housing industry. Typically, the majority of householders become homeowners in their early thirties. That may no longer be the case as young adults either can't afford or do not want to buy a home until housing prices bottom out and job security improves. In 2011, the annual homeownership rate of the age group fell below 50 percent (to 48.9 percent) for the first time in the data series, which dates back to 1982.

Another ominous sign: the steepest decline in homeownership has shifted upwards from the 30-to-34 age group to the 35-to-39 age group. This shift is occurring as younger adults who have hesitated to buy homes enter the next older age group. The homeownership rate of householders aged 35 to 39 fell by 4.4 percentage points between the first quarter of 2011 (60.8 percent) and the first quarter of 2012 (56.4 percent).

See previous First-Time Homebuyer posts here, here, here, and here

Source: Bureau of the Census, Housing Vacancy Survey

Demographics of the Sleep Deprived

Thirty percent of American workers regularly sleep for 6 or fewer hours per 24-hour period, according to the CDC. The percentage is highest among night shift workers (44 percent), workers aged 30 to 64 (32 percent), blacks (39 percent), the divorced/separated/widowed (36 percent), those with more than one job (37 percent), and those who work more than 40 hours a week (36 percent).

Source: CDC, Short Sleep Duration among Workers -- United States, 2010

Your Life in Sports

Average age of males participating in selected sports...

Skateboarding: 17.1 

Basketball: 23.9

Running: 29.4

Bicycling: 30.6

Working out at club: 39.1

Golfing: 40.6

Exercise walking: 46.0

Source: National Sporting Goods Association, 2002-2010 Participation by Mean Age - Male & Female

Retirement: Expecting the Worst

Only 38 percent of Americans who are not yet retired expect to have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to a Gallup poll. Fully 55 percent say they will not have enough for a comfortable retirement.

Source: Gallup, Expected Retirement Age in U.S. Up to 67

Many More Young Asians and Blacks

After months of dribbling out, state-by-state, detailed race data from the 2010 census, the Census Bureau finally gave it up today with a monumental release of Summary File 2 tables. What a difference they make in our understanding of the Asian and black populations.

31 Percent More Young Asians
The 2010 census counted 15 million people who identify themselves as Asian alone. But there are 17 million people who identify themselves as Asian alone or Asian in combination with other races. And not until today did we know the age distribution of those additional 2 million people. Here's why that's important: the 54 percent majority of the additional Asians are under age 20 because so many parents identified their children as multiracial. By including multiracial Asians in the mix, the number of Asians under age 20 expands by 31 percent!

11 Percent More Young Blacks
The black population also expands enormously when multiracial blacks are added to the mix. The black alone population numbered 40 million in 2010. The black alone or black in combination population numbered 42 million. Seventy-nine percent of the additional blacks are under age 20. By including multiracial blacks in the mix, the number of blacks under age 20 grows by 11 percent.

For marketers, these differences are huge.

Source: Bureau of the Census, 2010 Census, American Factfinder

Homes Worth Less

Only 53 percent of homeowners say their home is worth more today than when they bought it, down from 92 percent in 2006.

Source: Gallup, U.S. Homeownership Hits Decade Low

Living Arrangements of Young Adults

Everyone is wondering what the nation's young adults are up to as many postpone marriage, delay parenthood, and move back in with their parents. The Census Bureau has answers based on 2010 census findings. According to the census, 39 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds are heading their own households or are the spouse of the householder. Another 33 percent are the biological son or daughter of the householder. More than one in four 18-to-29-year-olds has some other relationship to the householder. Here are the living arrangements of the age group...

Total 18-to-29-year-olds
Householder or spouse: 39.1%
Biological son or daughter of householder: 33.4%
Other relationship to householder: 27.5%

Other relationship details
Housemate or roommate: 6.6%
Unmarried partner: 5.5%
Brother or sister: 2.3%
Grandchild: 2.3%
Stepson or stepdaughter: 2.3%
Son-in-law or daughter-in-law: 1.2%
Roomer or boarder: 1.2%
Adopted son or daughter: 0.8%
Other relative of householder: 2.6%
Other nonrelative of householder: 2.5%

Source: Census Bureau, Households and Families: 2010, 2010 Census Brief

2010 Census: Households and Families

Today the Census Bureau released the 2010 Census Brief on the nation's 116.7 million households. These are some of the most important findings...

• Married couples account for fewer than half of households (48 percent).
• The number of nuclear families (married couples with children under age 18) fell by 1.2 million between 2000 and 2010, to 23.6 million households (20 percent of total households).
• People living alone are a larger share of households (27 percent) than nuclear families. They are the second most common household type after married couples without children under age 18 (28 percent).
• Average household size fell slightly, from 2.59 people in 2000 to 2.58 people in 2010.
• Unmarried partner households grew by 41 percent to 7.7 million (7 percent of total households). Of these, 646,000 are same-sex unmarried partners.
• Ten percent of married couples have partners of a different race or Hispanic origin.  
• Multigenerational households (defined as households with three or more generations of relatives) grew from 3.9 million to 5.1 million between 2000 and 2010 and account for 4 percent of households.

Source: Census Bureau, Households and Families: 2010, 2010 Census Brief

Why Doesn't Everyone Go To College?

Because of the risk of making less than a high school graduate after a lifetime of work. That is the finding of a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The risk is this: not everyone who starts college gets a degree. In fact, a large proportion of those who start school eventually drop out--as many as 50 percent of those who enroll at a four-year public college drop out before getting a degree, notes the study. For dropouts with $50,000 in student loans, their lifetime earnings will not surpass those of a high school graduate until well beyond retirement.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, College Degrees: Why Aren't More People Making the Investment?

Not So Green

Percentage of Americans who say the following statements describe them very well or completely...

I am concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations: 34%
I am environmentally conscious: 27%
I am green: 17% 

Source: Harris Interactive, Fewer Americans "Thinking Green"

Career Women

Percentage of 18-to-34-year-olds who say "being successful in a high-paying career or profession" is very important or one of the most important things in their life...

Men: 59%
Women: 66%

Source: Pew Research Center, A Gender Reversal on Career Aspirations

The Problem with High Ceilings

Houses are larger than they used to be and this is a long-term problem for energy consumption, says the Energy Information Administration in a new report. Homes built in the 1970s and 1980s averaged less than 1,800 square feet. Homes built in the 2000s averaged 2,465 square feet.

"Square footage typically stays fixed over the life of a home and it is a characteristic that is expensive, even impractical to alter to reduce energy consumption," notes the EIA in its report.

Even worse for energy consumption are the high ceilings in many newly built homes. The percentage of new homes with ceilings higher than the traditional 8 feet grew from 17 percent in the 1970s to the 52 percent majority in the 2000s.

Source: Energy Information Administration, The Impact of Increasing Home Size on Energy Demand

Young Adults Looking for Work

Among young adults who graduated from high school in 2011, more than one in four (26.7 percent) are looking for a job. This stunningly high unemployment rate reveals the struggle to earn a living among the nation's youngest workers. Here are the unemployment rates for 2011 high school graduates by characteristic...

Enrolled in 2-year college: 23.7%
Enrolled in 4-year college: 18.6%
Not enrolled in college: 33.6%

Among 2010-11 high school dropouts, the unemployment rate is 38.4 percent.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates

College Enrollment Rates: 2011

The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates is down slightly from the all-time high of 70.1 percent set in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among 2011 high school graduates, 68.3 percent were enrolled in college by October of that year. Sixty-two percent of those enrolled in college were attending a four-year school and 38 percent were at a two-year institution. Here are 2011 college enrollment rates by sex, race, and Hispanic origin...

Men: 64.6%
Women: 72.3%

Asian: 86.7%
Black: 67.5%
Hispanic: 66.6%
White: 67.7%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates

An Average Day: Men at Work

The Great Recession idled millions of men (and women). The American Time Use Survey collects information on what the average American did yesterday. The results show that fewer men are going to work. Here are the percentages of men who worked on an average day in 2010 and 2007, by age...

			% point
	2010	2007	change
15-19	13.8	27.8	-14.0
20-24	41.7	55.5	-13.8
25-34	63.8	68.9	-5.1
35-44	61.4	65.7	-4.3
45-54	58.9	63.9	-5.0
55-64	49.9	47.2	2.7
65+	14.3	15.2	-0.9

Note: An average day includes both weekdays and weekends.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007 and 2010 American Time Use Surveys

Homeowners with a Mortgage

The nation's 49 million homeowners with a mortgage outnumber homeowners without a mortgage (30 million) and renters (42 million). Their incomes and spending are higher than average. Here are some of the characteristics of the average homeowner with a mortgage...

Average annual...
Household income: $88,962
Household spending: $63,235

Average number of...
People per household: 2.9
Vehicles per household: 2.5
Earners per household: 1.6

Average annual spending on...
Federal income tax: $1,939
Health insurance (out-of-pocket): $2,071
Gasoline: $2,764
Property taxes: $3,008
Eating out: $3,135
Entertainment: $3,423
Mortgage interest: $8,031

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010 Consumer Expenditure Survey

Helicopter Parents = Less Sex

Birth rates for teenagers are at an historic low, as this blog reported previously. One factor behind the decline is the fact that teens today are less likely to be sexually experienced. The percentage of 18-to-19-year-old men who have ever had sexual intercourse fell from 77 percent in 1988 to 64 percent in 2006-10. Among their female counterparts, the figure fell from 73 to 63 percent during those years.

Is this yet another example of how helicopter parenting is changing the lives of young adults? For other examples, see my posts on the decline in crime and the decline in accidental deaths among children.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth

Who Spends More on Movie Tickets?

Average annual household spending on movie, theater, and amusement park tickets...

Householders under age 25: $79.15
Householders aged 65 to 74: $93.10

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010 Consumer Expenditure Survey

No Credit Cards

More than one in four Americans aged 18 or older does not have a credit card, according to a survey by AARP. Younger adults are more than twice as likely to be without credit cards than adults aged 50 or older. Here are the percentages who do not have a credit card by age...

Total adults: 26%
Aged 18-49: 34%
Aged 50-plus: 16%

Source: AARP Bulletin Survey on Budgeting and Credit Card Use