The number of mortgage-free, single-family homes and condos increased by 7.9 million from 2012 to 2022, to 33.3 million, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by Bloomberg.
Share of mortgage-free homes in the U.S.
Line chart showing how the share of mortgage-free homes increased from 34.3% in 2012 to 39.3% in 2022, an increase of five percentage points. There's a larger share of homes in America without mortgages now compared to any time since 2005, according to the latest census data.
Mortgage-Paying Habits of Average Americans
For example, according to the Census Bureau, fewer than 28% homeowners below retirement age have paid off their homes completely, as opposed to almost 63% of those 65 or older.
The homeownership rate in the U.S. as of the first quarter of 2023 is 66%. The number of U. S. households increased by just 10.1 million from 2010 to 2020, fewer than in any other decade between 1950 and 2010.
Average length of homeownership in the U.S.
The most recent average duration of homeownership was eight years while the median was 13.2 years in 2021 — an increase of about three years over the last decade.
Most Californians own a home by 49 years old.
The typical American homeowner in 2021 had spent 13.2 years in their home. That's down slightly from the peak of 13.5 years in 2020 but up significantly from 10.1 years in 2012.
Around 23% of Americans are debt free, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve. That figure factors in every type of debt, from credit card balances and student loans to mortgages, car loans and more.
In fact, some Gen Z real estate trends are pointing in an optimistic direction. According to a recent study from a major real estate brokerage about 30% of 25-year-olds owned their own homes in 2022, 2-3% ahead of both millennials and Gen X at the same age.
Topline. California's 55.3% average homeownership rate in 2022 was the state's best since 2011 – but only Washington, D.C., at 42% and New York at 54% were lower. The highest ownership rates in 2022 were found in West Virginia at 79%, then Wyoming at 75%, Minnesota at 75%, Maine at 75% and Delaware at 75%.
Myth 1: Being debt-free means being rich.
A common misconception is equating a lack of debt with wealth. Having debt simply means that you owe money to creditors. Being debt-free often indicates sound financial management, not necessarily an overflowing bank account.
A higher percentage of homeowners are retiring with a mortgage than was the case 30 years ago. A recent Harvard University study found that 46% of homeowners between ages 65 and 79 carried a mortgage in 2016, almost twice as many as the 24% of homeowners in this age group who carried a mortgage in 1990.
Age doesn't matter. Counterintuitive as it may sound, your loan application for a mortgage to be repaid over 30 years looks the same to lenders whether you are 90 years old or 40.
Almost 40% of US homeowners own their homes outright as of 2022—many of them baby boomers who refinanced when rates were low.
The survey, "Retirement and Mortgages," by national mortgage banker American Financing, found 44 percent of Americans between the ages of 60 and 70 have a mortgage when they retire, and as many as 17 percent of those surveyed say they may never pay it off.
About five million U.S. households were estimated to be behind on their last month's mortgage repayment in June 2023. Homeowners between 40 and 54 years made up over 1.8 million households late on their payment. Second in rank were roughly 1.5 million homeowners between 25 and 39 years.
Zoom out: Among U.S. millennials who don't already own a home, 44% say income is the No. 1 barrier to buying, per the study, closely followed by down payment and closing costs (43%) and high home prices (42%). Mortgage rates and poor credit were among other top responses.
Baby boomers continue to dominate the housing market in terms of the total value of homes owned.
WASHINGTON (March 28, 2023) – The share of baby boomers has surpassed millennials and now makes up the largest generation of home buyers, according to the latest study from the National Association of Realtors®.
Statistics vary, but between 55 percent to 63 percent of Americans are likely living paycheck to paycheck.
In the U.S., the average credit score is 716, per Experian's latest data from the second quarter of 2023. And when you break down the average credit score by age, the typical American is hovering near or above that score.
Analysis of the debt share in the U.S. shows that people aged 40-49 hold the largest amount of debt at $4.21 trillion in total. People aged 50-59 have the most credit card debt in total at $0.21 trillion, and people aged 30-39 have the most student loan debt at $0.5 trillion.
According to research by the National Association of REALTORS®, the average homebuyer views 10 homes before making an offer and the search process takes 10 weeks.
Existing Home Sales in the United States averaged 4064.49 Thousand from 1968 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 7250.00 Thousand in September of 2005 and a record low of 1370.00 Thousand in March of 1970.
As a point of reference, first-time home buyers tend to stay in their homes for about 11 years. Homeowners who've owned a house previously keep their property for closer to 15 years, on average.