Homeownership Rates Down in Region

• May 14, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

With the news that the home ownership rate in the US has fallen to a 15-year low, UrbanTurf was curious about how our region compared with the national trend.

Lisa Sturtevant, a professor at George Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis, told UrbanTurf that, over the last few years, home ownership rates in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) have fallen further than the rest of the country. The 2010 Census shows home ownership at 64.3 percent in the MSA (which includes several counties in Maryland and Virginia and one in West Virginia), down from 67.9 percent in 2006. Nationally, homeownership went from 68.8 percent to 66.9 percent in the same period.

Most other major cities have seen falling rates as well: San Francisco fell to 54.4 percent from 58.4 percent, and Chicago to 66 percent from 68.8 percent. While home ownership rates for those above 35 rose slightly between 2006 and 2010, rates for those under 35 fell, from 13.7 percent to 11.3 percent.

Correspondingly, more folks are choosing to rent and and the DC region currently has one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the country, although that is due to change in the coming year.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/homeownership_rates_down_in_dc/5520