The national homeownership rate hit 63.9 percent in 2017, per Census data. The highest recorded national homeownership rate was 69 percent in 2004.
Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Los Angeles says that the homeownership rate may be held back by more individuals preferring to rent than buy, particularly in higher-priced metros. In fact, Realtor.com reports that "the metros with the lowest homeownership rates were concentrated along the coasts, where high housing costs are often prohibitive for buyers."
Allentown, Pennsylvania had a 73.1 percent homeownership rate. (The Census looked only at the 75 largest metropolitan areas.) The median home list price in the metro area, which has suffered through area factory closures over the past few decades, is just $217,050. That's well below the national median of $274,900 as of Feb. 1, according to realtor.com data.