Homeownership Rate Will Decline Further as Demographics Shift

Analysts at the Urban Institute predict that by 2030, the U.S. homeownership rate will fall to 61.2 percent – the lowest since the rate was first recorded in 1965.

The reason for the decline is the nation’s shifting demographics. A majority of household formation this decade and the next will be formed by minorities. The Wall Street Journal reports that “these new households – nearly half of which will be Hispanic – have lower incomes, less wealth, and lower homeownership rates than the U.S. average.”

Real estate reporter Nick Timiraos likens this trend to a looming housing crisis that is “very different from the subprime mania of the early 2000s, but it shares one trait: Policy makers in Washington appear either unaware or unwilling to do much about it.”

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