November 12, 2022
It seems the New York Times views government data with the same suspicion that people used to view the data disseminated by the Soviet Union in Stalin’s day. It ran yet another piece telling its readers that young people have been priced out of the housing market and may never be able to own a home.
“For most younger Americans, the entree to homeownership, a rite of passage for many adults, has been blocked by forces beyond their control. They have been competing in a market unlike any other, one defined by the largest run-up on home prices in modern history blunted only by the steepest climb in home mortgage rates in decades. As first-time buyers scramble to cobble together money for down payments and closing costs, they are competing in a market with an anemic inventory against investors and repeat home buyers flush with cash.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics see things somewhat differently. Here’s the picture on homeownership for people between the ages of 25 and 34. It shows the homeownership rate for this group rising from 41 percent in 2019 to 44 percent in 2021.
The quarterly data, which is released by the Census Bureau, shows the homeownership rate for households under age 35 have continued to rise for the first three quarters of 2022. To be clear, the recent run-up in mortgage rates is certainly making it difficult for young people, and everyone else, to buy homes. But this comes against a backdrop of rapid increases in homeownership for young people, as well as Blacks and Hispanics. The assertion in this article, that homeownership has become out of reach for most young people is 180 degrees at odds with the reality.
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