Financially, the American dream should not be homeownership, but should be financial independence, Robert Johnson, CEO of Economic Index Associates and a professor at Creighton University, said in the report. People fall prey to the stories of individuals realizing substantial gains by buying a home and selling it at a much higher price years down the road. He noted that nearly 29% of household wealth was tied to home equity in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
According to the Housing Partnership, the program is expected to support approximately 1,000 workers each year. The lack of regular paystubs, W-2s or 1099s to document income often puts gig workers at a disadvantage when applying for a mortgage to buy their first home, said Jamie Smarr, president and CEO of the New York City Housing Partnership. The economy has undergone significant shifts for middle-class Americans. The goal for our new Pathways to Homeownership program is to help gig workers, freelancers, seasonal workers and the self-employed with non-traditional sources of income become homeowners.
He has supported me through tough life events, and I have supported him through his own. Wilson has encouraged me to stand up to my abusive mother and given me the strength to set boundaries. He shows me his love not in big flashy gestures, but in the quiet, meaningful moments when I need him. We have had conversations about our future and how we want our lives to look. In every conversation, it seems like we are on the same page.
These debates, while legitimate, have become distractions from larger challenges, and while we argue over how to slice a shrinking pie, millions of Americans are starving for a slice of the American Dream. Eales acknowledged the plethora of legislative proposals devoted to improved housing affordability. These include some of the provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act and the More Homes on the Market Act, which focuses on changing the current capital gains tax exemption limits.
The authors behind the report, Projections of Homeownership Rates and Household Growth by Tenure for 2025-2035, updated the research to reflect the possibility of relatively low population gains from international immigration over the next decade. The addendum comes as the immigrant population in the U.S. is decreasing. After peaking at 53.3 million in January, the immigrant population fell by 1.3 million by June, according to Pew Research data. Further deportations and restrictions on legal immigration have continued since, likely reducing the immigrant population further.
American homeowners manage some of the largest household expenses in the country - mortgage payments, home improvements, utilities, and maintenance - yet credit card rewards have largely ignored these categories in favor of luxury travel and dining perks that feel out of reach for most families. With 86 million owner-occupied homes and mortgage payments averaging $1,500 monthly, homeownership represents the single largest recurring financial commitment for most Americans, creating an untapped opportunity to deliver meaningful financial benefits where households actually spend.
The announcement made at a JPMorgan Chase-sponsored Axios event in Atlanta where policymakers, business leaders and community groups discussed housing challenges and solutions builds on the company's already-extended $5 billion in debt and equity for affordable housing in the first three quarters of 2025 The initiative focuses on strategies such as innovative construction models, financing solutions, rental unit preservation and home improvement support for low- and moderate-income families.
One of the key reasons: homeownership. DINKS may have higher household incomes and more advanced degrees, but they own fewer homes, resulting in less equity. Having kids often push couples into homeownership: 71% of DINKs own a home, compared with 79% of dual-income couples with kids. Age is also an important factor, as people tend to accumulate more wealth as they grow older.
A key factor driving the rise in mortgage-free homeownership is demographics. Older homeowners are more likely to be mortgage-free, and as Americans live longer and the massive baby boomer generation ages into their senior years, the U.S. population has skewed older-pushing up the share of homeowners without mortgages. According to ResiClub 's analysis, 54% of the 35 million U.S. homeowners who are mortgage-free are 65 years old or older.
Althea McBride's Georgia home is an "Afro boho" oasis. Her living room and hallway walls are painted black, acting as a dramatic background to her many African sculptures and art. The dining room's burnt orange walls are decorated with vinyl records like Aretha Franklin's "Knew You Were Waiting: The Best Of Aretha Franklin 1980-1998" to Kendrick Lamar's "GNX." It's been a year since McBride bought her home, and outside a few hiccups, like a wasp infestation and disputes over property lines,
When thinking about real estate, you might wonder whether it's smarter to buy land or purchase a house. Both options have unique benefits, and the right choice depends on your goals, budget, and lifestyle. Some people dream of building a custom home from scratch in , while others want the convenience of moving into a ready-made property in Kirkland, WA . In this Redfin article, we help you understand the differences between the two so you can make an informed decision.
Considering the current mortgage rate of around 6.41% in September 2025, and knowing that rates were half as much 10-15 years ago, it's becoming increasingly hard to convince anyone that buying a house right now is a good idea. This uncertainty has led individuals like this Redditor, who purchased a home with a high mortgage rate and is now deciding whether or not refinancing is a good option.
The "Great Lock-In" trend on TikTok has gained momentum as a strategy to help individuals achieve their goals, such as homeownership, by focusing intensely on saving and planning during the last few months of the year. This trend aims to motivate and support individuals in their financial journey toward homeownership. Let's delve into the key takeaways from this trend:
Buying a home is supposed to be one of life's big milestones - but sometimes, the reality of being a homeowner comes with way more stress, regret, and unexpected challenges than anyone warned you about. So, we want to know: If you recently bought a home and already regret it, what happened? Maybe you moved farther from friends, family, and the places you love than you ever wanted, and now every commute feels like an endless slog.
The cost of achieving the American Dream in 2025 has soared past $5 million, according to a comprehensive analysis by Investopedia, marking a staggering milestone in the financial realities facing U.S. households today. This figure represents the cumulative lifetime expenses of eight pillars of middle-class aspiration, and stands nearly $600,000 higher than last year's estimate, and almost 50% more than just two years ago.
Borrowers can secure a conforming first mortgage without mortgage insurance, lowering monthly payments. The assistance is repaid, along with a share of market appreciation, when the home is sold or refinanced. This new partnership will help make the dream of homeownership a reality for more Detroiters, offering the kind of affordable support that leads to long-term housing stability, said Amy Hovey, CEO and executive director of MSHDA.
Redfin puts it bluntly: America's homeowner population has stopped growing. Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research, attributes this to "rising home prices, high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty [which] have made it increasingly difficult to own a home." Zhao also noted secular shifts in the economy that may be playing a role. "People are also getting married and starting families later, which means they're buying homes later-another factor that may be at play."
As young buyers scrape together down payments, boomers are sitting on $82 trillion in wealth-more than twice what Gen X has and four times as much as millennials. New research shows the wealth gap has only widened since the 1980s, as older generations saw bigger gains in homeownership and stocks while younger people took on faster-growing mortgage debt. With boomers holding onto large homes and aging in place, younger buyers are struggling to break into a shrinking market.
Between 1983 and 2022, the relative household wealth of Americans 75 and older soared, while the mean net worth of all other age groups fell, according to a new paper by Edward Wolff, a New York University economist. Wolff found the gap was driven by three main factors: the homeownership rate, the share of stocks owned, and mortgage debt. He zeroed in on the gap in median net worth between Americans over 75 and those under 35.
Only 36.4% of U.S. residents under 35 own homes, reflecting a broader decline in homeownership rates among younger age groups. The situation is particularly dire in Massachusetts, where the median listing price is $797,000 and requires an annual income of approximately $210,000 to afford.
