In the United States, interest rates for all mortgage types started to increase in 2021. This was due to the Federal Reserve introducing a series of hikes in the federal funds rate to contain the rising inflation. In the first quarter of 2024, the 30-year fixed rate declined slightly, to 6.75 percent. Despite the cut, this was about 3.9 percentage points higher than the same quarter in 2021. Why have U.S. home sales decreased? Cheaper mortgages normally encourage consumers to buy homes, while higher borrowing costs have the opposite effect. As interest rates increased in 2022, the number of existing homes sold plummeted. Soaring house prices over the past 10 years have further affected housing affordability. Between 2013 and 2023, the median price of an existing single-family home risen by about 88 percent. On the other hand, the median weekly earnings have risen much slower. Comparing mortgage terms and rates Between 2008 and 2023, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States stood between 2.28 and 6.11 percent. Over the same period, a 30-year mortgage term averaged a fixed-rate of between 3.08 and 6.81 percent. Rates on 15-year loan terms are lower to encourage a quicker repayment, which helps to improve a homeowner’s equity.

Graph and download economic data for Homeownership Rate in the United States (RSAHORUSQ156S) from Q1 1980 to Q4 2024 about housing, rate, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (MSPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q4 2024 about sales, median, housing, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All-Transactions House Price Index for the United States (USSTHPI) from Q1 1975 to Q4 2024 about appraisers, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Homeownership Rate for the United States was 65.60% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for the United States reached a record high of 69.00 in January of 2004 and a record low of 63.40 in January of 2016. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for the United States - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for New Jersey was 62.90% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for New Jersey reached a record high of 70.10 in January of 2005 and a record low of 62.20 in January of 2016. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for New Jersey - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

House prices grew year-on-year in most states in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2024. The District of Columbia was the only exception, with a decline of three percent. The annual appreciation for single-family housing in the U.S. was 0.71 percent, while in Hawaii—the state where homes appreciated the most—the increase exceeded 10 percent. How have home prices developed in recent years? House price growth in the U.S. has been going strong for years. In 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home exceeded 413,000 U.S. dollars, up from 277,000 U.S. dollars five years ago. One of the factors driving house prices was the cost of credit. The record-low federal funds effective rate allowed mortgage lenders to set mortgage interest rates as low as 2.3 percent. With interest rates on the rise, home buying has also slowed, causing fluctuations in house prices. Why are house prices growing? Many markets in the U.S. are overheated because supply has not been able to keep up with demand. How many homes enter the housing market depends on the construction output, whereas the availability of existing homes for purchase depends on many other factors, such as the willingness of owners to sell. Furthermore, growing investor appetite in the housing sector means that prospective homebuyers have some extra competition to worry about. In certain metros, for example, the share of homes bought by investors exceeded 20 percent in 2024.

Graph and download economic data for Home Ownership Rate in Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) Neighborhood D (RLMSHHORHOLCND) from 1910 to 2010 about HOLC, redlining, homeownership, 10-year, rate, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Monthly Supply of New Houses in the United States (MSACSR) from Jan 1963 to Feb 2025 about supplies, new, housing, and USA.

Homeownership Rate for Utah was 68.30% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Utah reached a record high of 76.20 in January of 2008 and a record low of 68.00 in January of 1986. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Utah - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for 15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States (MORTGAGE15US) from 1991-08-30 to 2025-03-20 about 15-year, fixed, mortgage, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

Homeownership Rate for North Carolina was 64.50% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for North Carolina reached a record high of 71.70 in January of 1999 and a record low of 64.50 in January of 2024. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for North Carolina - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for Vermont was 74.30% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Vermont reached a record high of 74.60 in January of 2011 and a record low of 66.90 in January of 1984. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Vermont - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 was a period of severe macroeconomic instability for the United States and the global economy more generally. The crisis was precipitated by the collapse of a number of financial institutions who were deeply involved in the U.S. mortgage market and associated credit markets. Beginning in the Summer of 2007, a number of banks began to report issues with increasing mortgage delinquencies and the problem of not being able to accurately price derivatives contracts which were based on bundles of these U.S. residential mortgages. By the end of 2008, U.S. financial institutions had begun to fail due to their exposure to the housing market, leading to one of the deepest recessions in the history of the United States and to extensive government bailouts of the financial sector.

Subprime and the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market

The early 2000s had seen explosive growth in the U.S. mortgage market, as credit became cheaper due to the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates in the aftermath of the 2001 'Dot Com' Crash, as well as because of the increasing globalization of financial flows which directed funds into U.S. financial markets. Lower mortgage rates gave incentive to financial institutions to begin lending to riskier borrowers, using so-called 'subprime' loans. These were loans to borrowers with poor credit scores, who would not have met the requirements for a conventional mortgage loan. In order to hedge against the risk of these riskier loans, financial institutions began to use complex financial instruments known as derivatives, which bundled mortgage loans together and allowed the risk of default to be sold on to willing investors. This practice was supposed to remove the risk from these loans, by effectively allowing credit institutions to buy insurance against delinquencies. Due to the fraudulent practices of credit ratings agencies, however, the price of these contacts did not reflect the real risk of the loans involved. As the reality of the inability of the borrowers to repay began to kick in during 2007, the financial markets which traded these derivatives came under increasing stress and eventually led to a 'sudden stop' in trading and credit intermediation during 2008.

Market Panic and The Great Recession

As borrowers failed to make repayments, this had a knock-on effect among financial institutions who were highly leveraged with financial instruments based on the mortgage market. Lehman Brothers, one of the world's largest investment banks, failed on September 15th 2008, causing widespread panic in financial markets. Due to the fear of an unprecedented collapse in the financial sector which would have untold consequences for the wider economy, the U.S. government and central bank, The Fed, intervened the following day to bailout the United States' largest insurance company, AIG, and to backstop financial markets. The crisis prompted a deep recession, known colloquially as The Great Recession, drawing parallels between this period and The Great Depression. The collapse of credit intermediation in the economy lead to further issues in the real economy, as business were increasingly unable to pay back loans and were forced to lay off staff, driving unemployment to a high of almost 10 percent in 2010. While there has been criticism of the U.S. government's actions to bailout the financial institutions involved, the actions of the government and the Fed are seen by many as having prevented the crisis from spiraling into a depression of the magnitude of The Great Depression.

Homeownership Rate for Connecticut was 68.80% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Connecticut reached a record high of 73.00 in January of 2003 and a record low of 63.80 in January of 1994. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Connecticut - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for Michigan was 74.10% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Michigan reached a record high of 77.40 in January of 2006 and a record low of 70.60 in January of 1991. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Michigan - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for Wisconsin was 69.20% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Wisconsin reached a record high of 73.30 in January of 2004 and a record low of 63.80 in January of 1985. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Wisconsin - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for Delaware was 75.10% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Delaware reached a record high of 77.90 in January of 2020 and a record low of 67.70 in January of 1990. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Delaware - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for New York was 53.30% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for New York reached a record high of 55.90 in January of 2005 and a record low of 50.30 in January of 1985. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for New York - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Homeownership Rate for Ohio was 66.60% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Homeownership Rate for Ohio reached a record high of 73.30 in January of 2005 and a record low of 66.00 in January of 2017. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Homeownership Rate for Ohio - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.