Owning a home was once considered a staple of achieving the American dream. But for residents in Virginia that dream is fading fast.
The Old Dominion state has suffered the largest decline in homeownership across the US since 2000, according to a new report.
Some 67.4 percent of Virginians had their own property in 2022, down from 73.9 percent at the start of the millennium.
Overall the number of owners dropped by 8.8 percent – the steepest slump of any US state, figures from California platform RubyHome Luxury Real Estate show.
It was followed by North Dakota which suffered a decline of 7.5 percent and Ohio and Connecticut which both saw drops of 7.4 percent.
Some 67.4 percent of Virginians had their own property in 2022, down from 73.9 percent at the start of the millennium
The top ten states were rounded out by: North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Of those listed, Nevada had the lowest proportion of homeowners with only 64 percent of residents in the state having their own property.
The research was compiled using figures from the U.S Census Bureau.
Experts commented the figures pointed to a downward trend across the US that showed younger generations were far less likely to own a home than their parents.
A RubyHome spokesman said: ‘With the general trend since 2000 dictating that the current younger generation are less likely than their parents to ultimately own a home, it’s interesting to see the states who are most susceptible to this phenomenon.
‘It will be pertinent to see whether these homeownership rates continue to decline or if the states most affected can reverse the trend.’
Aspiring homeowners are currently facing a perfect storm of elevated mortgage rates which are deterring homeowners from moving.
US mortgage rates surpassed 7.5 percent for the first time since November 2000, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association
Figures from the Atlanta Federal Reserve showed that Americans were facing the least affordable housing market since 2006.
Many fixed 30-year deals when rates were around 2 percent – effectively trapping them in their current home.
It comes after figures from the Atlanta Federal Reserve showed that Americans were facing the least affordable housing market since 2006.
And data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage rates had topped 7.5 percent for the first time since 2000.
But it’s not all bad news as data from property portal Zillow shows that the number of sellers slashing the price of their homes has risen to its highest level this year.
Some 9.2 percent of listings had their asking prices slashed in the week to September 23 – compared to 6 percent in April and 7.9 percent in the same week in September 2019.
While a post-summer cooldown occurs every year, economists noted the trend had accelerated this fall.
Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker wrote in a report that fall could be a ‘sweet spot’ for aspiring home buyers – so long as they are prepared to cope with higher mortgage rates.
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