Cody

Your post has very good information on the fall of home ownership to the lowest level in 50.

The elements of the lower home ownership level are not being talked about  . . . .  

The lowerest levels of people with full time emopyment (40 hours a week)i in the US since the 1960's.

The lack of jobs and the lack of manufacting in the US.

Student debt.

And the list goes on . . . . the  home ownership levels will up when the number of full time jobs go up.

Just saying . . . . 

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

The housing industry will not improve until we change our national leadership. It takes money to buy homes and that equates to jobs and a thriving economy. 

The last seven and a half years has been a stagnation, over regulation and costly, especially to small business owners. The debt will be nearly 20 trillion dollars, so, we are in a national crisis.

This isn't a political rant, but simply reality and any professional in the real estate industry should be concerned about the change that could occur this fall.

The rising debt must be reduced, the budget must be balanced, peoples income must rise, employers must get relief from regulations and taxes must be REDUCED. Now, if we get that done, the economy will rise and so will home ownership. Lou Ludwig, #1 is a professional.

Cody,

What a well developed and written article, and I wish more people have read it. Your last paragraph says it all...more pending legislation, more regulations are more than lifely a temporary fix which in turn will need another temporary fix and ad nauseum.  All these fixes will cost the taxpayer more money as more departments will be created.  A

Good morning Cody Carmen  -

Thank you for taking the time to research and write this very informative post - congratulations on having it get featured!   I work in an expensive area of the country, near the Silicon Valley.    I have some first time homebuyers who would were interested in a few condos, but none of the associations are FHA approved.   Many of the comparatively priced homes won't pass an FHA appraisal, so we've been in a holding pattern for months.    It's pretty hard for many young people to own here! 

With your permission, I'd like to reblog this!

Cody Carmen Well you certainly did your homework on this one, and I agree with both Lou Ludwig and Kimo Jarrett -- I could not have said it any better.  

Excellent article!  Another factor is all the new construction in multi-family.  There is a lot of multi-family rental units under construction in our area.  Why buy when you can rent something brand new with better amenities than owning!  I saw a complex that had bike rooms, fitness center, and an herb garden!

And yes, the FHA condo guidelines were much needed!

Hi Cody, well researched and written post, hats off to you! In my area, there are still affordable homes(under 200k) which are purchased mostly by investors with cash. When you analyze homeownership for US and it's decline, not a pretty picture. Government will do what government does.

"Hopefully some pending legislation, like H.R. 3700/ S. 3083 that passed through Congress and will likely be signed into law by President Obama, will help. That bill would ease FHA loan eligibility restrictions..."

Isn't this what got us into the current mess to start with?

ie: Community Reinvestment Act of 1995, in which President Bill Clinton "encouraged" banks to make housing "available" to applicants who could not qualify.

Certainly there are many factors which figure in to home ownership, but easing the qualification hurdles is a recipe for disaster - again.

national wide it's not really something I concern myself with.  I live in a rural market and our ownership rates are still much higher than the national average. I would be concerned if the market in my area had a drastic swing, but factor in places like Atlanta, San Diego, Detroit where renters are the norm... 

Planning for the increasing numbers of people globally and housing for everyone is a really complicated issue. Too many people indeed.

It will get lower and I think closer to 60%. It may take awhile but it will rise. What NAR has been doing lately in conjunction with other groups on reducing the minimum for student loan payments will help.

The link  Census Bureau statistics doesn't have the charts going back to 1965.  Can you put in that link.  I'd be interested to see that long term chart.

Well done outling the issues with falling home ownership - perhaps if Hillary gets elected, she'll pay off some of America's homeowners mortgages *laughing* sorry I cou;dn't help myself!

Maybe another bail out will help? *laughing* oh I crack myself up.

What is needed is a path to ownership that hasn't existed in years - we bail out those that bring our economy to near ruin and allow those in charge to retire with millions and never brought up on charges for ruining our economy!

*sigh*it's amazing that with these statistics, Hillary is still being considered the favorite - just what we need, more of the same that brought us to this disgusting mess!

Thanks for the well written article Cody Carmen 

Congratulations on the Feature ... and on writing such an informative and well written post. 

My name is Kathleen Daniels and I support Kimo Jarrett message. 

Hi Cody,  Great article. I know in my small market there is a pent up demand for new homes.  The few that are being built are coming in above $550K in most cases which puts it out of reach of the buyers with this pent up demand. We seem to be stuck in a bit of rut when it comes to getting homes, in areas people want to live in, below the $500K mark.

Again, thanks for a great article

Great post, Cody!  Lots of valuable information.  The Homeownership Rate is an issue.  The Solution is even more difficult!  There's a combination of other factors that play a role in this.  First, the Millenials are being over-burdened with their student debt.  Many are repaying them, like it's a House payment.  Second, they are just starting out in the workforce, so they tend to be on the lower wage-scale than those with experience.  Another factor is the resistance from Lenders.  Because of all the lawsuits, many Lenders are pulling back, especially with FHA financing.  Chase Bank has already said they won't provide FHA financing.  Others, like Quicken Loans and Guild Mortgage, have faced unnecessary attacks from HUD and Department of Justice (DOJ); which may lead them to pull away from FHA loans too.  The CFPB is starting to look at some of the Downpayment Assistant Programs (DAP) to verify if they're complying with the Dodd Frank provisions, so they're becoming a bit more scrutinized.  Unfortunately, there's no easy solution.  If we create more of these loans to grant more access to those whom really cannot afford to repay the loans, then we're back to the aftermath of what led to the Credit Crisis.  Then what have we learned?  I think you're going to see younger generation rent for a bit, then look to inherit their parents' homes when the time arrives; or when they advance in their payscale to afford a home.  California is an extremely difficult place to buy a home, especially in the more populated areas.  If you own a home here, then you've really "moved on up" (as George and Weezy would say -I'm dating myself here)!  I loved the post.  Just a difficult pill to swallow sometimes.  Especially when they have large balances and payments for their student loans.

Cody Carmen I perhaps will have the shortest comment on 'my take'!

Like real estate, this is also cyclic. The moment renting becomes more expensive, homeownership goes up!

For a potential buyer already saddled with a student loan and car payment, many don't want the added burden of being tied to a mortgage payment, property taxes, house insurance & possible assessment. It's easier to rent, also gives one easier mobility to relocate.