The American housing market took off during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The homeownership rate – or the share of housing units occupied by their owner – jumped by 2.6 percentage points from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2020, by far the largest increase ever recorded. By the end of 2020, there were 2.1 million more homeowners in the United States than there were a year earlier.
The surge in home sales was fueled by several factors, including historically low mortgage rates, and, as some experts speculate, the pandemic, which led many Americans to re-evaluate where and how they live. Here is a look at the mortgage rate in America every year since 1972.
Nationwide, the homeownership rate stands at 64.4%, according to the latest American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This rate varies substantially across the country, however, and in some major metropolitan areas, the homeownership rate is well above the national average.
Using census data, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 metro areas with the highest homeownership rates. Metro areas are ranked by the share of housing units occupied by their owners.
Among the metro areas on this list, homeownership rates range from 72.1% to 88.6%. Half of the metro areas on this list are in the South, including 12 in Florida alone.
Home values are generally relatively low in the metro areas on this list, making homeownership more affordable for larger shares of the population. In all but 13 metro areas on this list, the median home value is below the $229,800 value of the typical American home. Here is a look at the 20 cities where the middle class can no longer afford housing.
Click here to see cities where the most people own their homes
Click here to see our detailed methodology
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