Older Americans Gird Housing With High Ownership Rate

More seniors are staying in the housing market rather than downsizing into rentals or moving to independent senior centers. The homeownership rate was 80 percent in the third quarter for Americans age 65 and older, little changed from the same period in 2008, according to the Census Bureau. For every other age group, the homeowner rate has dropped following the collapse of the housing market. The biggest increase in homebuyers this year was for the 65-to 74-year-old group, rising to 13 percent from 10 percent of all buyers from a year earlier, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The percentage of older homeowners with mortgages and the amount they owe also have increased in the past decade. “If not for them, we would have seen a much lower homeownership rate overall, more homes on the market and more weakness,” says Chris Herbert, acting managing director at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. | Read More