US Home Ownership Hits 4-Year High. Meanwhile, California Home Sales Hit 10-Year Low

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Homeownership rate rises to four-year high as Millennials are finally buying homes
February 28, 2019
by Ben Lane

What so many in the housing industry have waited years for appears to be finally happening: Millennials are buying homes.

How much things can change in just a few months.

Back in September, after existing home sales fell to a three-year low, it appeared that many younger would-be buyers were turning to renting instead of buying.

But things look much different just a few months later.

According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, the homeownership rate rose in the fourth quarter to 64.8%, which is a four-year high. And it also continues a trend of the homeownership rate steadily increasing ever since that figure hit a nearly all-time low back in 2016.

Ever since the homeownership rate hit 62.9% back in the second quarter of 2016, that figure has risen steadily, with the fourth quarter of 2018 hitting the highest total since the first quarter of 2014.

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California Home Sales Hit 10-Year Low in Early 2019
By Michael Gerrity
February 21, 2019

Based on a new report by the California Association of Realtors, housing demand in California remained subdued for the ninth consecutive month in January 2019 as economic and market uncertainties sent home sales to their lowest level since April 2008.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 357,730 units in January, according to information collected by C.A.R.

The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2019 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

January's sales figure was down 3.9 percent from the revised 372,260 level in December and down 12.6 percent from home sales in January 2018 of 409,520. January marked the ninth consecutive month of decline and the sixth month in a row that sales were below 400,000, dipping to the lowest level since April 2008.

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