U.S. Has 3rd Lowest Percentage Of Households That Own Their Homes Without Mortgages (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of Americans own their homes without a mortgage? ›

The American Dream

The country with the highest free-and-clear homeownership rate in the list above was Lithuania at 83%. In the U.S., the free-and-clear homeownership rate was 23%. If free-and-clear homeownership is the American Dream, then apparently Lithuania and many other countries are living the American Dream.

Top Home Ownership Statistics In America: 65.8% of Americans own a home as of 2022. Some 74 million Americans, or about 27%, live in a condo or HOA property.

64% of Americans own real estate. 35% of the American population does not own their own homes. Homeownership rates have increased to nearly 65% in the US since the 1940s.

More than one-quarter of homeowners in the United States are “house poor,” spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, according to a new study.

Key findings:

4% of people are behind on their mortgage payments.

Fewer than one quarter of American households live debt-free.

John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.

Conclusion: The Catholic Church owns the most land, far more than McDonald's and billionaire Bill Gates.

According to NAHB estimates, the total count of second homes was 7.5 million, accounting for 5.5% of the total housing stock in 2018, the most recent data available.

Most people who buy a home use a mortgage. A mortgage is a necessity if you can't pay the full cost of a home out of pocket. There are some cases where it makes sense to have a mortgage on your home even though you have the money to pay it off.

How many homes does the average American own? ›

In fact, the average person will own at least three houses in their lifetime. Living in one place for most of your life may or may not be your goal, but if it is, there are things you must do as a homeowner to ensure your home lasts as long as you'd like it to.

The average mortgage payment is $3,048 on 30-year fixed mortgage, and $3,976 on a 15-year fixed mortgage. However, a more accurate measure of what the typical American spends on their mortgage each month would be a median: $1,672 in 2021, according to the US Census Bureau.

Nationwide, about 27.4% of homeowners — or more than a quarter — fall into the “house poor” category, according to the data. “Overall, 21% of cost-burdened homeowners have a household income of less than $75,000,” the report states.

More than one quarter of homeowners in the United States are “house poor,” spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, according to a new study.

The world's richest people owned on average about four homes in 2022.

Mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S. 2000-Q1 2023

Under the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the mortgage delinquency rate in the United States spiked to 8.22 percent in the second quarter of 2020, just one percent down from its peak of 9.3 percent during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2010.

More than 3.5 million U.S. adults live in in a household that doesn't pay any rent. People in these households don't own their homes or make mortgage payments. Nor do they live with someone who does. Instead, they occupy a rental housing unit where rent isn't paid or contracted.

It might appear impossible, but many consumers succeed in living their entire lives without any debt. People of a variety of ages and income levels have made this choice. It's not an easy feat, but if it's something you truly want, don't let naysayers talk you out of it.

Credit card debt today

A total of 35 percent of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month, according to a January 2023 Bankrate survey of 2,458 U.S. adults— an increase of 6 percent from 2022.

How much money does the average American have? ›

The average American household had transaction accounts worth $41,600 in 2019. This is 2.3% lower than the average recorded in 2016. In terms of median values, the 2019 figure of $5,300 is 10.65% higher than the 2016 median balance of $4,790.

Invitation Homes is the largest single owner of single-family rental homes in the United States, managing more than 80,000 homes as of 2021.

Because of the many tax benefits, real estate investors often end up paying less taxes overall even as they are bringing in more income. This is why many millionaires invest in real estate. Not only does it make you money, but it allows you to keep a lot more of the money you make.

Home Ownership Rate in Russia averaged 83.94 percent from 2000 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 92.50 percent in 2020 and a record low of 58.20 percent in 2000.

Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the largest house in the world, spread over 2.15 million square feet.

Often, a bank owns the home they live in — most of it, anyway. Still, Americans have a lot of real money tied up in their homes — on average, $150,506, according to a new report by the Urban Institute called “How Much House Do Americans Really own? Measuring America's Accessible Housing Wealth by Geography and Age.”

Some 38% of owner-occupied households in the U.S. are completely paid off, and mortgage-free homeownership is even higher among low-income families and in small cities with low housing costs, according to a new study by Construction Coverage, a Los Angeles-based construction content website.

Renters Key Stats. 65.8% of the U.S. population lives in a home they own, and 34.2% rent.

While the average age borrowers expect to pay off their mortgage is 59, the number of survey participants who have no idea when they will pay it off at all stood at 16%. In 2019, 9% of those asked didn't know and in 2020, 11% gave this answer.

Most have paid off their mortgages. In 2020, 58% of the state's equity millionaires owned their homes free and clear. Statewide, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of Californians who have paid off their mortgages, from 1.6 million households in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2020.

Is it smart to not have a mortgage? ›

It's generally always good to get rid of debt. Plus, with no mortgage, you get a guaranteed, risk-free return. Just make sure you consider the downsides. Aside from losing motivation, you also tie up capital in an illiquid asset when you pay your mortgage off early.

(According to the Pew Research Center, about 36 percent of American households rented, rather than owned, their homes in 2019, the last year that reliable data was available from the Census Bureau.) Moody's first started tracking the metric in 1999, when the typical rent-to-income ratio was 22.5 percent.

The average home price in the U.S. is $348,079 in 2022.

A 40-year mortgage may offer the benefit of a lower monthly payment because it's a long-term loan.

What were the highest mortgage rates in history? October 1981 saw 30-year FRM mortgage rates hit their historical peak at 18.45%.

The highest mortgage rate on record came in 1981. That year, the average mortgage rate was at a whopping 16.63%. To put that into context, at 16.63%, the monthly cost for principal and interest on a $200,000 mortgage would be $2,800.

Becoming house poor can affect your ability to save for retirement, pay off debt or afford other purchases. It can create feelings of stress and anxiety around your finances and make you feel as if you're only one setback away from financial disaster.

Many studies over the years have shown that homeowners are, on average, happier than non-homeowners. In my own calculations, using the General Social Survey, 21 percent of people who own their home are “very happy,” compared with 16 percent of those who pay rent.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – A new study from the website Craftjack looks into how the United States is buying homes in 2023. The study showed that 61 percent of Americans can't afford to buy a house in this current market.

An estimated 23 percent of Americans owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, or have “negative equity,” according to CoreLogic.

At what point are you considered house poor? ›

You're “house poor” when you're spending a big portion of your total income on owning a home. Making sure you can afford all the costs associated with a home before you commit to a mortgage can help you avoid being house poor.

Some 250,000 people who took out a mortgage this year to buy a home are now underwater, meaning they owe more on their loan than the home is worth, Black Knight, a mortgage software provider, found.

1. Hawaii. Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, warm climate, and breathtaking scenery. However, it is also the most expensive state to buy a house, with a Zillow Home Value Index of $834,582.

Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.

If a homeowner is “equity rich,” it means they have at least 50% equity in their home—or they owe less than half their home's value on their mortgage. Being equity rich is a great position to be in because building home equity is a key way homeowners can grow wealth over time.

While the average age borrowers expect to pay off their mortgage is 59, the number of survey participants who have no idea when they will pay it off at all stood at 16%. In 2019, 9% of those asked didn't know and in 2020, 11% gave this answer.

In fact, O'Leary insists that it's a good idea to be debt-free by age 45 -- and that includes having your mortgage paid off. Of course, it's one thing to shed a credit card balance by age 45. But many people don't first buy a home until they reach their 30s.

Forty-two percent of households have mortgages. (That's over 51.5 million total American households). And the average mortgage debt in our country is $202,454.

In fact, the average person will own at least three houses in their lifetime. Living in one place for most of your life may or may not be your goal, but if it is, there are things you must do as a homeowner to ensure your home lasts as long as you'd like it to.

Key Takeaways. Paying off a mortgage can be smart for retirees or those just about to retire if they're in a lower-income bracket, have a high-interest mortgage, or don't benefit from the mortgage interest tax deduction. It's generally not a good idea to withdraw from a retirement account to pay off a mortgage.

How many people pay off mortgage? ›

According to Census Bureau data, over 38 percent of owner-occupied housing units are owned free and clear.

Many people strive to pay off their mortgage before they retire. It's a legitimate objective, especially when you consider that 73% of seniors said their home is their most valuable asset, a 2021 survey by American Advisors Group found.

The Bottom Line

Paying off your mortgage early can save you a lot of money in the long run. Even a small extra monthly payment can allow you to own your home sooner. Make sure you have an emergency fund before you put your money toward your loan.

The average mortgage term is 30 years, but that doesn't mean you have to get a 30-year loan – or take 30 years to pay it off. While it offers a relatively low monthly payment, this term will likely require you to pay the most in total interest if you keep it for 30 years.

What are the benefits of being mortgage free? Having more disposable income, and no interest to pay, are just some of the great benefits to being mortgage free. When you pay off your mortgage, you'll have much more money to put into savings, spend on yourself and access when you need it.

The average American holds a debt balance of $96,371, according to 2021 Experian data, the latest data available.

Americans are sinking into debt after hunkering down and building their financial savings during the pandemic. The sharp rise in credit card debt has been a long time coming, with Americans increasingly relying on plastic to make purchases.

The overwhelming majority of millionaires own real estate, making it by far the most popular alternative asset class. That includes their own home, second homes, investment properties, and fractional ownership of investment properties through partners or programs like Arrived Homes and Roofstock One.