National Homeownership Month takes on a new meaning this year, as the pandemic has redefined the role of a home. A home is not just a dwelling or even just a vehicle for wealth creation, but also an office, a classroom, a daycare and even a gym. A home, now more than ever, has become a top priority for American households. The broadening role of ... Read More ›

Following the rapid contraction in U.S. economic activity because of the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of Americans took advantage of payment suspension and mortgage forbearance programs. At the peak in June 2020, approximately 4.3 million homeowners were in forbearance plans. A year into the pandemic, and that number has declined to ... Read More ›

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the median renter experienced a 10 percent boost to their house-buying power relative to one year ago, but the share of homes they could afford to buy declined by 4 percentage points due to rising house prices, according to the First-Time Home Buyer Outlook Report. However, while we recently examined affordability ... Read More ›

In 2020, a combination of record low mortgage rates and millennials aging into homeownership boosted demand against a very limited supply of homes for sale, resulting in rapid house price appreciation. The nearly two-thirds of American households who already own homes saw their equity increase, while potential first-time home buyers, who are ... Read More ›

During Women’s History Month, it’s important to reflect on the progress that single women have made in achieving one of the main tenets of the American Dream - homeownership. According to our analysis of anonymized household-level survey data, following an overall decline in the homeownership rate among single women in the aftermath of the Great ... Read More ›

At the onset of 2021, positive housing market dynamics powered growth in the market potential for existing-home sales, offsetting negative market supply dynamics. Millions more millennials will age into their prime home-buying age in 2021, and they will do so at a time of historically low mortgage rates. Working against them is the extremely ... Read More ›