The ABC Data Exchange

Housing and Homeownership

Homeownership and residential stability are linked to many positive benefits like higher high school graduation rates and social/civic engagement.

Owning a home is a way to build assets and wealth, and it can be used as equity in case of unexpected expenses to prevent major disruption to well being.

Literature Review Highlights

 

Homeownership relates to the following positive factors (not necessarily causal):

 

  1. Higher high school graduation; [1]
  2. Provides residential stability; [2]
  3. A hedge against rising rent; [3]
  4. Homeownership is related to variables indicating social capital (voting, being part of local organizations, working to solve local problems, etc) and the relationship might be causal.  The authors claim the causal relationship might be because homeowners are more stable; [4]
  5. Children exhibit fewer behavioral problems. [5]
Literature Review References

[1] Aaronson, D. (2000). A Note on the Benefits of Homeownership. Journal of Urban Economics, 47(3), 356-369.

[2] Id.

[3] Sinai, T., & Souleles, N. S. (2005). Owner-occupied housing as a hedge against rent risk. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(2), 763-789.

[4] DiPasquale, D., & Glaeser, E. L. (1999). Incentives and social capital: Are homeowners better citizens?. Journal of Urban Economics, 45(2), 354-384.

[5] Haurin, D. R., Parcel, T. L., & Haurin, R. J. (2002). Impact of homeownership on child outcomes (pp. 427-446). Brookings Institution Press.

Major Findings

White residents, residents with higher educational attainment, and residents with higher household incomes were more likely to live in an owned home than their respective counterparts.
The percentage of African American residents living in an owned home jumped from 37% to 58% from 2019 to 2021.
More renters experienced housing cost burden than homeowners.

Homeownership

Homeownership typically represents those who live in homes that are owned free and clear or those who own their own home via a mortgage or loan. Owning a home, or other assets such as savings accounts, investments, and vehicles provides financial security that can protect households from unexpected expenses and decrease the likelihood of experiencing poverty [1]. While homeownership does not indicate overall wealth, or even the value of homes, they do indicate ownership of a valuable asset, which could provide financial security [1]. View data notes for this measure.

Data Visualization

Homeownership (Forsyth County, 2021)

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Key Takeaways

There was a significant increase of Forsyth County residents living in owned homes from 2018 to 2021.

In 2018, 59% of residents lived in an owned home compared to 69% of residents in 2021.

Residents with higher educational attainment were more likely to live in an owned home.

In 2021, 80% of residents with a Bachelor’s Degree lived in an owned home compared to about 65% of residents with a high school diploma or less.

Residents with higher incomes were more likely to live in an owned home.

Residents with a household income of over $100,000 had a homeownership rate of 88% compared to 38% for residents with an income below $20,000.

Major racial/ethnic disparities were present.

About 80% of White residents lived in an owned home compared to 58% and 55% of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents, respectively.

Older adults were more likely to live in an owned home.

In 2021, 84% of adults 65 years and over lived in an owned home. Residents aged 18-34 were the least likely to live in an owned home at 53%.

Housing Cost Burden

When a significant portion of a household’s income is devoted to housing expenses, there is less money available to cover other basic needs such as food, health care, and transportation, a situation which may result in financial insecurity [1,2]. Housing cost burden measures housing expenses as a percentage of household income for homeowners and renters. The threshold for housing cost burden is when a household spends more than 30% of their income on housing expenses. Expenses include mortgage or rent payments, utilities, property taxes, insurance, and other fees. View data notes for this measure.

Data Visualization

Housing Cost Burden of Homeowners (Forsyth County, 2021)

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Data Visualization

Housing Cost Burden of Renters (Forsyth County, 2021)

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Key Takeaways

About 21% of homeowners experienced a housing cost burden in 2009 compared to 15% in 2021.
Renters had higher rates of housing cost burden than homeowners.

In 2021, 15% of homeowners experienced housing cost burden compared to 45% of renters.

Residents with higher incomes had lower rates of housing cost burden.
Residents with at least an Associate’s Degree or more were less cost burdened than residents with less than an Associate’s Degree.