Credit Drove 125 Year of Homeownership Gains

Using over 100 million household records from census microdata and quarterly housing surveys, we trace American homeownership from 47% in 1900 to its peak of 69% in 2004, and back down to 65% today. The major jumps in homeownership have come not from buil

Using over 100 million household records from census microdata and quarterly housing surveys, we trace American homeownership from 47% in 1900 to its peak of 69% in 2004, and back down to 65% today. The major jumps in homeownership have come not from building more homes, but from financial engineering—making mortgages cheaper and more accessible to marg…