Home Ownership Hits 20 Year Low
According to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of homeownership hit a 20 year low of 64.5% in 2014. The Census Bureau defines the homeownership rate as the percentage of households that own the house in which they live. The home ownership rate peaked at 69.0% in 2004 and has been declining over the past ten years. 1994 was the last year that the home ownership rate was as low as 64.5% meaning that 2014 officially erases two decades of home ownership growth in the U.S.
There are many factors that have contributed to the decline in home ownership in the U.S. such as the housing market collapse, economic recession, employment uncertainty and tighter lending standards including higher down payment requirements. Additionally, FREEandCLEAR believes that the increased complexity of the home buying and mortgage processes has made getting a mortgage and purchasing a home more difficult for more people. Many people believe that buying a home is out of reach and lack the tools and resources to successfully manage the mortgage process. The rate of home purchasers that are first time home buyers also continues to decline, a sign that more people are deciding to rent longer instead of buying.
The decline in the home ownership rate and housing market participation by first-time home buyers is one of the reasons we developed FREEandCLEAR. Our goal is to empower people with high-quality, easy-to-use tools and resources that enable them to understand and better manage a mortgage process that can be overwhelming and confusing. With the right knowledge, informed borrowers can make better decisions and save money when they get a mortgage. FREEandCLEAR offers a detailed first-time home buyer cheat sheet, mortgage process guide and mortgage topic instructional videos to guide people through the mortgage process step-by-step. Although getting a mortgage and buying a home remains a challenging process, borrowers can use FREEandCLEAR to take control of the mortgage process and buy their dream homes.
FREEandCLEAR Mortgage Expert
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