Research Report How Much House Do Americans Really Own? Measuring America’s Accessible Housing Wealth by Geography and Age
Wei Li, Laurie Goodman
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This report measures the net and accessible housing wealth of Americans with owner-occupied homes using the latest consumer credit data supplemented with data from public property records and the American Community Survey’s Public Use Microdata Sample. This report calculates geographic differences and age patterns in household wealth and how much net housing wealth is accessible. Of the $11 trillion in net housing wealth, about 64 percent, or $7 trillion, is accessible under today’s lending standards. While 52 million homeowners have accessible housing wealth, it is highly concentrated in older Americans and in certain geographies. Housing wealth is, however, more evenly dispersed than other forms of wealth.
Research Areas Economic mobility and inequality Wealth and financial well-being Neighborhoods, cities, and metros Aging and retirement Families Housing finance
Tags Finance
Policy Centers Housing Finance Policy Center