The rate current homeowners pay has never been this low when compared to the rate for new mortgages.

The number of households that are homeowners in the U.S. has fallen, ever so slightly, by 0.1% year on year. Still, today’s homeownership rate of 65% is par for the course. 

Prices are actually falling in some former hotspots in the Sun Belt, while they’re rising in parts of the Rust Belt.

The average age for a first-time homeowner is 38, but not all buyers enter the market at the same time.

The Federal Reserve has stayed the course, stalling rate cuts as they wait to see the impact of President Donald Trump’s Tariffs. Vivian Gueler, CFO of Pacific Trust Group, spoke about mortgage rate expectations for the coming year.

At the age of 40, Brandon Adams bought his first home in Durham, North Carolina. He chose a townhome as he felt it would be an easier transition from being a renter.

Homes constructed or retrofitted to better withstand intense wind and rain had fewer insurance claims after Hurricane Sally hit the state in 2020.

Houston is one of the cheaper major metro real estate markets in the country. But homeownership there comes with expensive baggage, like high winds, flooding and power outages.

But both reports cover the period before the tariff uncertainty of the past couple of months.

“Even though I only live, like, 35 minutes away from the city, or 45 minutes by metro, it’s just a little inconvenient for people,” said William Craver in Herndon, Virginia.