During Homeownership Month, NAR is sharing how REALTORS® help the millions of Americans who aspire to join the nation's 85 million property owners. 

Homeownership builds financial security & can drastically help people improve their net worth. The net worth of a typical homeowner is nearly 40 times the net worth of a non-owner. Home equity & retirement accounts represent over 60% of households’ net worth. 

In the last decade, middle-income homeowners have accumulated $122,000 in wealth due to price appreciation alone. 

But, a historic 50-year record shortage of affordable homes available for purchase has severely limited access to the residential real estate market. 

A landmark report commissioned by NAR last year found the U.S. has developed an “underbuilding gap” of 5.5 million housing units over the last 20 years. This translates into a $4.4 trillion underinvestment in housing.

The housing shortage is constraining homeownership opportunities for too many Americans.

There are currently 280,000 homes listed for sale that middle-income families can afford to buy, a decline from 450,000 homes in 2019.

For middle-income households, there is only 1 affordable listing for every 125 households, a stark decrease from 1 listing for every 46 households in 2019.

Over the last two years, the percentage of single-family homes sold below $250,000 has plummeted from 47% of sales to 28%.

For more information on becoming a homeowner or selling your house call us!

Article from NAR