The national homeownership rate hit 64.8 percent, the highest since the first quarter of 2014, up six basis points annually. The rate for adults aged 35 to 44 years hit 61.1 percent in Q4 2018.
The homeownership rate for younger Gen Xers and older Millennials was up 2.2 percent annually, per Census data. The rate for buyers underage 35 grew from 36 to 36.5 percent in that time. Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist from CoreLogic, tells National Mortgage News, "the appetite for homeownership rests in the more-affordable segment of the housing market," McLaughlin said in an interview. "The demographic structure is going to support healthy demand at the mid- to low range of the housing market."
The increase signals that some older millennials are spreading out as they start families, and young Generation Xers are coming back to homeownership after losing properties in the last decade's real estate crash. The number of owner-occupied households jumped to 1.7 million, the second-most since 2005, the data show. The gain was bigger in the second quarter of last year.
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