This year we saw the national homeownership rate fall to its lowest level in five decades. In the second quarter of 2016, homeownership fell to 62.9% – a half-point decline over the previous year and previous quarter. Will the homeownership rate continue to decline? NeighborWorks America’s recent survey suggests a strong desire for homeownership – and some troubling barriers.
The report notes “aspirations of homeownership remain strong, with 89 percent of adults saying that homeownership is an important part of the American Dream, but an increasing percentage of consumers with student loan debt worry about their homeownership future, and a large percentage of consumers say that the mortgage process is complicated.”