According to a recent survey by the Census Bureau, homeownership rates experienced their first rise in 17 years. While levels aren’t quite on par with figures before the Great Recession, data indicates that national homeownership has reached 63.9 percent. Its last high point was 69 percent in 2004.
Differences in Homeownership
Growth across regions and demographics isn’t uniform. Instead, Millennials are the primary factor influencing that progress, particularly in urban areas across the country. For first-time homebuyers, Hispanic populations cover 53 percent of housing demands.
While Millennials have a visible presence in major cities, smaller towns away from the coast are seeing the highest homeownership rates. Allentown, PA has the greatest degree of homeownership at 73.1 percent.
Multiple factors have influenced Allentown and similar markets. For one, most of these areas have lower-than-average buying prices – $217,050 in Allentown versus nearly $275,000 nationally. Additionally, after decades of disappearing industries and economic depression, cities like Allentown have started reinventing themselves as distribution hubs, attracting employers like Amazon, Walmart and Fed Ex.
By contrast, three big issues seem to strangle coastal markets, even when housing looks affordable:
- Development constraints
- Prices nearly double the national average in some cases
- A lack of affordable housing in relation to residents’ incomes
Because renting seems more attractive than buying in these particular markets, analysts do not believe the country will reach the high point of 2004. Connecticut’s regions fall to the middle of the spectrum.
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