Homeownership helps to build wealth

Photo: Happy Haggis

Statistics from the Department of Commerce earlier this year revealed that homeownership in America has now fallen to its lowest level in 19 years, but new resarch from the NAR shows that owning a property is a key part of building wealth.

In the past 15 years, the net worth of the typical homeowner has ranged between 31 and 46 times that of the net worth of the typical renter.

The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted once every three years, provides a snapshot of family income and net worth along with basic demographic details and more detailed information on where families keep the wealth they have accumulated.

Data from the most recent survey, conducted in 2013, shows that median homeowners had nearly $200,000 in net worth or 36 times that of the median renter who had just over $5,000. The median value of owners’ homes was $170,000.

“Homeownership is not a Republican or Democratic talking point, it’s an aspiration that all Americans share,” National Association of Realtors President Steve Brown said at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s 2014 Housing Summit this year, remarking about the mortgage credit obstacles facing buyers.