Homeownership (was What did the Anti-War Movement Lead To?)

[Max B. Sawicky]

> 
> In the U.S., homeownership rates declined in the 1980s, from a peak of
> 65.8% in the third quarter of 1979, to bottom out at 63.7% in 
> 1990. They've
> since risen to 65.9% in the first quarter of 98, a hair under the 66.0%
> record of the third quarter of 1997. But that increase in the average is
> heavily driven by higher rates among over-60s. For every age group below
> 60, ownership rates are still below early 1980s levels.
> 
> >Yoshie (most of my friends in their 20s and 30s are renters)
> 
> 60% of folks under 35 in the U.S. rent, and 65% of those between 25 & 29.
> I'm one of the 26% of my age group (45-49) that rents.

Both house prices and wages don't grow as fast they
used to, but I'd say the overriding factor is not
age but gender--familes with a female head and kids
are obviously up against it as far as home ownership
goes, and the incidence of such families is much
higher now than previously.  My guess is that this
is the force behind an apparent age effect, since
such family heads tend to be younger than average.

MBS