Overview
- The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis published the homeowners-to-population ratio (HPOP) on July 15 to count how many adults, not housing units, actually own the home they live in.
- HPOP reports about 53% of U.S. adults own the homes they live in, compared with the roughly 65% owner-occupancy rate that measures whether a housing unit is owner-occupied.
- About 13.9% of adults live in owner-occupied homes without owning them, a group that includes adult children, older parents and other non-owning household members and that drives much of the gap between the two measures.
- Homeownership is especially low for young adults: HPOP shows just 22% of adults under 35 own the homes they live in, versus a 37% owner-occupancy rate for households headed by that age group.
- States with high housing costs show the biggest gaps (examples include Hawaii, California, New York and Nevada), and lawmakers passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in July to ease regulatory barriers, but economists say record prices and higher mortgage rates mean any rise in individual ownership will come slowly.