The recent improvement in economic performance has manifested itself in a number of ways, including in the form of faster output and wage growth. Homeownership represents another emerging bright spot.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeownership in the U.S. hit sixty three point five percent during the third quarter. That represents a significant jump from the prior quarter when it hit sixty two point nine percent, a fifty-one year low.
Household formation has been picking up of late. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, approximately one point one million households formed during the third quarter, up from less than nine hundred and fifty thousand during the prior quarter.
More crucially for homeownership, about half of these new households are owners rather than renters. About five hundred and sixty thousand new owner households were formed this quarter. More people are seeking out homeownership in part because of rising home prices and associated wealth creation opportunities.
According to Case-Shiller Indices, home prices are now within one percent of their July two thousand and six peak. This has been induced by a combination of low inventory and low interest rates.
