The homeownership rate isn’t what you think

Adult children who live at home don’t get added onto their parents’ mortgage or deed. But that’s how they’re often treated when we rely on the most commonly reported measure of homeownership. We’re proposing an alternative that shines a light on millions of Americans routinely glossed over in the nation’s homeownership conversation. The homeownership rate in the United States is commonly reported to be 65%. But this is actually the “owner-occupancy rate.” It tells us how many housing units are occupied by an owner. That measure has its uses, but doesn’t actually tell us how many adults own a home. To better reflect the share of adults who are homeowners, we offer the “homeowners-to-population ratio,” or the “HPOP.” Using this new measure, the U.S. homeownership rate is 53%. To calculate the HPOP, first we count the number of homeowners by adding up the number of adults identified as the head of an owner-occupied household as well as any spouses or unmarried partners who live with them. Then we divide that number by the total adult population. i.e., people ages 18 and over. What are the strengths of this approach? Here are a few. It focuses on people instead of houses We developed t...