by Arianna Hooker
New data shows that less than a quarter of young people own their own home, as the housing affordability crisis is actually worse than it seems.
A new way to measure America’s homeownership rates, done by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, found that for adults under 35, only 22% are homeowners, according to Axios.
The Census Bureau reports a homeownership rate of 65%.
However, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has calculated a new measure of the homeowners-to-population ratio, showing the U.S. homeownership rate is actually 53%, according to their data.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of a first-time home buyer is 40 years old.
“The historically low share of first-time buyers underscores the real-world consequences of a housing market starved for affordable inventory,” said Jessica Lautz NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. “The share of first-time buyers in the market has contracted by 50% since 2007 – right before the Great Recession. The implications for the housing market are staggering. Today’s first-time buyers are building less housing wealth and will likely have fewer moves over a lifetime as a result.”
“Unfolding in the housing market is a tale of two cities,” Lautz explained. “We’re seeing buyers with significant housing equity making larger down payments and all-cash offers, while first-time buyers continue to struggle to enter the market.”
States with some of the highest costs in the country have the lowest adjusted homeownership rates, according to Axios. These states include California, Hawaii, and New York.
Homeownership is higher where housing is cheaper. In blue states like California, Hawaii, and New York, fewer Americans can own homes due to affordability. However, in every state, homeownership rates are lower, according to Axios.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has evolved from a small group to over 100,000 members, many of whom are young Americans. As DSA grew in popularity among young liberals, they shifted their focus to addressing student debt, housing, raising wages, and enacting socialized healthcare.
These blue states that have lower homeownership rates have DSA electoral victories for people in office. In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on implementing a $30 per hour minimum wage, having the government run buses and grocery stores, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Young and college-educated voters in densely populated areas have supported candidates backed by the DSA.
“Younger people are having an even harder time buying a house than traditional data would suggest,” housing policy analyst at TD Cowen, Jaret Seiberg, said, according to Axios.
The new measure by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis looks at the share of those 18 and over who own their own home rather than traditional data that shows home occupancy. The biggest adjustment comes from accounting for adult children who live at home, which lowers the homeownership rate by 8.6 percent, the outlet reported.
Fourteen percent of adults in the U.S. live in owner-occupied homes but are not themselves homeowners, according to Axios.
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Arianna Hooker is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
