February 11, 2019
What the Fed Has to Say About Home Ownership
In a May report entitled “Report of the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017,” the Federal Reserve Board (also known colloquially as “the Fed”) took stock of responses to its fifth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). Designed to inform the Fed about how American households are faring financially, this survey reveals a great deal about the larger trends in our economy, and provides insights into the state of the housing landscape as well.
The survey gleaned its information from a vast swath of the American public, and much of what the Fed distilled has to do with demographic particulars. As usual, homeowners are faring better than renters. Renters tend to be younger, and to have less income on average than homeowners—more than half of the reporting public who fall into the lower-income range (defined for purposes of this survey as those making $40,000 per year or less) rent the space in which they live instead of owning their homes. The median monthly rent overall comes in between $750-$1000, but for lower-income renters that amount drops to between $500-$750 per month. About seventy percent of lower-income earners are shown to be spending greater than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing, whether to rent or to own, and only 60 percent of this set is satisfied with the communities in which they live.
As for owners, they make up a full 66 percent of the survey’s adult respondents. Of the amount remaining, 25 percent are renters and eight percent fell into the category of having secured some other sort of living arrangement—a catch-all for various couch-crashers, those who have moved back in with parents, and so on. Among those who own homes in middle- to upper-class neighborhoods, about 80 percent of respondents claim to be satisfied with their communities.
If you’re looking to buy a home, we at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. are experts at ferreting-out problems with title and disposing with them in advance of closing, so that you, too, can be satisfied to live in your home and your community. We take pride in the great amount and quality of experience we bring to the closing table in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida. Contact us if you want a partner in your property closing—one who makes everyone involved feel like family.
