NAHB’s online tool that provides economic and housing market statistics for all local Home Builder Associations (HBAs) has recently been updated. The tool allows HBAs to easily compare local housing markets across the country by using economic and demographic statistics that come from the 2014 American Community Survey 5-year estimates and the 2014 Building Permit Survey.
Homeownership rates are calculated by dividing the number of owner-occupied housing units by the total number of occupied units, which includes owner and renter occupied units. This means the higher the homeownership rate, the lower the rental rate.
Nationally, the top five HBAs with the highest homeownership rates are as follows: HBA of Livingston County (Michigan) at 84.73 percent, Mid-Eastern Michigan HBA at 84.17 percent, Stone County Chapter (Mississippi) at 82.16 percent, Bear Lake HBA (Utah) at 82.14 percent, and Wayne Pike BIA (Pennsylvania) at 81.95 percent. The national homeownership rate is 64.4 percent, according to Eye on Housing.
The rule of thumb is that homeownership rates are typically higher in areas where housing is more affordable. Location is another important determining factor for influencing homeownership rates as urban areas with high housing costs tend to have lower homeownership rates than the rural or suburban counterparts.