‘She-Cession’ Can’t Slow Homeownership Surge Among Single Women

By Ksenia Potapov on March 7, 2024
As we commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, it’s an opportune time to celebrate the progress that single women have made in pursuit of the American Dream of homeownership. According to an analysis of anonymized household-level survey data, the homeownership rate among single, female-headed households (including widowed, ... Read More

Housing Homeownership

Building Wealth Brick by Brick

By Ksenia Potapov on December 4, 2023
Homeownership is often touted as one of the most effective ways to build wealth, especially for lower income households, for several reasons. Renters don’t capture the wealth generated by house price appreciation, nor do they benefit from the equity gains generated by monthly mortgage payments, which become a form of forced savings for homeowners. ... Read More

Housing Homeownership

When Boomers and Millennials Collide: Tectonic Shifts in Demographics are Coming

By Ksenia Potapov on October 6, 2023
Demographic trends are a fundamental driver of housing demand and supply and analyzing them can help us anticipate how many people will need housing, as well as roughly when, where and what kind of housing. During the pandemic, the peak of millennial demand for homeownership coincided with record-low mortgage rates and a shortage of homes for ... Read More

Housing Millennials Baby Boomers Homeownership

Why Buy a Home Now if it’s Likely to Cost More in the Future?

By Ksenia Potapov on September 7, 2023
The millennial generation, those born between 1981 and 1996, have recently dominated the demand side of the housing market. However, Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, is on the cusp of aging into their prime home-buying years. While potential first-time home buyers, mostly millennials and older Gen Zers, jumped on the historically ... Read More

Homeownership Renter Affordability

Millennials, Walking Around Like They Own the Place

By Ksenia Potapov on June 22, 2023
Amid the roller coaster housing market of the past few years, National Homeownership Month presents an opportunity to examine a fundamental driver of homeownership and housing demand—demographics. In fact, there’s one generation in particular that will remain a driving force of homeownership demand for years to come—the millennials. Read More

Millennials Homeownership

Outlook for First-Time Home Buyer Affordability is Mixed, but Affordable Markets Remain

By Ksenia Potapov on May 30, 2023
National housing affordability has broadly declined compared with one year ago, especially for potential first-time home buyers. The median renter, who can also be considered the median first-time home buyer, could afford 34 percent of the homes for sale nationally in the first quarter of 2023, down from 45 percent a year earlier. The decline is ... Read More

Homeownership First-Time Home Buyer Outlook Report Renter Affordability