In August 2021, our analysis found that owning a home was cheaper than renting in all 50 of the top U.S. markets, largely due to the ownership benefit of house price appreciation. Given house price appreciation nationally was historically strong in 2021, it’s unsurprising that owning a home made more financial sense than renting last year. Looking ... Read More ›

As we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, growing numbers of women, specifically single women, have become homeowners, achieving one of the main tenets of the American Dream. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the overall homeownership rate reached a low point of 63 percent in 2016, but has since rebounded to 65.5 ... Read More ›

Affordability in the U.S. fell in 2021 on a year-over-year basis, as house-buying power was unable to keep up with red-hot nominal house price growth. The decline in affordability was broad based as affordability fell in most major markets across the U.S., yet some markets remain more affordable than others for potential first-time home buyers. ... Read More ›

Unlike the two-thirds of Americans who already own a home, potential first-time home buyers did not benefit from the surging levels of home equity driven by rapid house price appreciation. Just as in 2020, low mortgage rates increased house-buying power and simultaneously boosted demand amid record low levels of homes for sale, further ... Read More ›

Over the past year, increasing investor activity in residential real estate, particularly in single-family homes, has drawn a lot of attention. News of large institutional investors snapping up single-family homes underscored this summer’s historically hot housing market. Investors now own an estimated 2 percent of single-family rental housing ... Read More ›

Housing market potential strengthened modestly in September, increasing a 0.4 percent compared with August, according to our Potential Home Sales Model. The slight increase means that on a year-over-year basis, housing market potential is now nearly 9 percent higher than in September 2020, when the housing market’s summer rebound was accelerating, ... Read More ›