4 ms·

67.4% of Americans own a home. You don't need to be in the be in the top 10% to benefit. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf https://w

67.4% of Americans own a home. You don't need to be in the be in the top 10% to benefit. https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf

ALittleLight 6y ago
That's not exactly what "home ownership rate" means. Home ownership rate is the proportion of occupied homes which are owned by their occupants. If your town has one hundred occupied homes, then 67 of those occupied homes would be owned (or being paid for on mortgagee) by the people living inside. Adult children living at home, adults living in homes with roommates, people underwater on their mortgage, etc would all count towards a higher home ownership rate.
- WillPostForFood 6y ago
  Rising housing prices help people underwater on their mortgage get above water.
l3v3ll 6y ago
I wouldn’t call ownership a benefit for the 71% of home owners with a mortgage. > Zillow’s Negative Equity 2012 Q3 data; we find 29% (20.6 million) of homeowners own their home outright https://www.zillow.com/research/free-and-clear-american-mortgages-3681/ https://www.zillow.com/research/free-and-clear-american-mort...
- cratermoon 6y ago
  At least one Nobel prize-winning economist has noted that home ownership is not all that it's made out to be. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-15/the-economist-who-just-won-a-nobel-prize-thinks-owning-a-home-is-a-terrible-investment https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-15/the-econo...
- WillPostForFood 6y ago
  Just flip it around, would plummeting housing prices benefit homeowners with a mortgage? No, that's a disaster (see the 2007 housing crash). Borrowing, especially at the extreme low rates, on an appreciating asset is great, paying debt on a depreciating asset is a nightmare.
  - l3v3ll 6y ago
    Flip what around? A mortgage doesn’t give you the benefits of being wealthy. Whether the market is good or bad. Anyway, the point is moot as the parent report shows the top 10% also own 41% of the houses, so the initial argument stands that the wealthy are benefiting the most.

ALittleLight 6y ago

That's not exactly what "home ownership rate" means. Home ownership rate is the proportion of occupied homes which are owned by their occupants. If your town has one hundred occupied homes, then 67 of those occupied homes would be owned (or being paid for on mortgagee) by the people living inside. Adult children living at home, adults living in homes with roommates, people underwater on their mortgage, etc would all count towards a higher home ownership rate.

WillPostForFood 6y ago
Rising housing prices help people underwater on their mortgage get above water.

l3v3ll 6y ago

I wouldn’t call ownership a benefit for the 71% of home owners with a mortgage. > Zillow’s Negative Equity 2012 Q3 data; we find 29% (20.6 million) of homeowners own their home outright https://www.zillow.com/research/free-and-clear-american-mortgages-3681/ https://www.zillow.com/research/free-and-clear-american-mort...

cratermoon 6y ago
At least one Nobel prize-winning economist has noted that home ownership is not all that it's made out to be. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-15/the-economist-who-just-won-a-nobel-prize-thinks-owning-a-home-is-a-terrible-investment https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-10-15/the-econo...
WillPostForFood 6y ago
Just flip it around, would plummeting housing prices benefit homeowners with a mortgage? No, that's a disaster (see the 2007 housing crash). Borrowing, especially at the extreme low rates, on an appreciating asset is great, paying debt on a depreciating asset is a nightmare.
- l3v3ll 6y ago
  Flip what around? A mortgage doesn’t give you the benefits of being wealthy. Whether the market is good or bad. Anyway, the point is moot as the parent report shows the top 10% also own 41% of the houses, so the initial argument stands that the wealthy are benefiting the most.