America’s homeowner population declines for the 1st time since 2016

For the first time since 2016, America’s homeowner population^[1] has ticked downward, while the number of renter households has seen some of its largest growth as consumers face ongoing homeownership affordability challenges.

During the second quarter of 2025, the number of homeowner households in the U.S. dipped by 0.1 percent year over year to about 86.2 million households, according to a new Redfin analysis^[2] of U.S. Census Bureau data. The decline is slight, but significant, since it’s the first such decline in nearly a decade.

TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR AUGUST^[3]

Meanwhile, the number of renter households grew by 2.6 percent to roughly 46.4 million households.

“America’s homeowner population is no longer growing because rising home prices, high mortgage rates^[4] and economic uncertainty have made it increasingly difficult to own a home,” Chen Zhao^[5], Redfin’s head of economics research, said in the company’s study. “People are also getting married and starting families later, which means they’re buying homes later — another factor that may be at play.”

The median home sale price^[6] as of July was up 1.4 percent year over year to $443,867, which is the highest July home sale price on record. Mortgage rates also continue to sit much higher than they were during the pandemic at 6.56 percent.

Although the recent dip in rates may be spurring some potential homeowners to get back into the market, high home prices and mortgage rates are causing many buyers to bow out.

In general, the homeownership rate in the U.S. has remained steady, Redfin added, at 65 percent as of the second quarter, down just slightly from 65.6 percent the previous year. The rentership rate was also only up slightly year over year at 35 percent, up from 34.4 percent during Q2 2024.

Email Lillian Dickerson^[7]

References

1. ^{^} America’s homeowner population (www.inman.com)
2. ^{^} Redfin analysis (www.redfin.com)
3. ^{^} TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR AUGUST (www.research.net)
4. ^{^} high mortgage rates (www.inman.com)
5. ^{^} Chen Zhao (www.redfin.com)
6. ^{^} The median home sale price (www.inman.com)
7. ^{^} Email Lillian Dickerson (www.inman.com)