A glimpse at the current state of the housing market.

Jobs are growing, incomes are rising, and interest rates remain low, yet the home ownership rate of 63 percent is at a 50-year low. The reason is a lack of inventory in many U.S. markets. Home ownership isn’t likely to budge much, especially if interest rates start to rise, which NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun thinks is likely if the economy stays healthy.

 

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Hefty Down Payments 

Even though borrowers can get conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for as little as 3 percent down and, from the FHA, 3.5 percent down, almost 40 percent of borrowers put down 20 percent for their home purchase in August 2016. And that percentage shows no signs of falling. In fact, the trend is in the opposite direction. Back in early 2014, only 34 percent put down 20 percent. It’s been rising steadily ever since.

Source: NAR Research

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