The age group still feels the sting of the Great Recession, study suggests
by Francis Monfort
About a decade after the housing market crash, Gen-X homeowners still lag behind in gaining home equity compared to other age groups.
Owners aged 35 to 50 years old have as much equity as millennials (less than 35 years old), who have not had as much time to gain equity, according to the first-quarter Zillow Home Equity Report. Among mortgaged homeowners, the typical millennial owes the bank about 76% of their home's current value while the median Gen-X homeowner owes 70%.
This figure is at 56% for boomers (50-65 years old) and 45% for homeowners 65 years old and older. The Zillow report is released twice a year and tracks the home equity of more than 50 million homeowners who have a mortgage.
Home equity stands at $78,683 for the median homeowner with a mortgage, while those who own their home outright typically have home equity of $177,158, according to the report. The loan-to-value ratio for a median homeowner is 62.2.
A broad majority of homeowners (75.7%) have equity in their homes of at least 20%, which means they have enough to cover selling or refinancing costs. Meanwhile, 5% of mortgaged homeowners are close to owning their homes, and 10.4% have negative equity.
"Roughly half of American wealth is held in home equity," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Paying off the home mortgage is a key step toward retirement for most Americans, and it's clear from these results that Generation X is further from that goal than older generations because of the Great Recession. The good news is that home values are still growing relatively fast in most places, building up home equity for homeowners who rely on the investment they've made in their home."
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Almost a third of Americans still feel sting of Great Recession – study
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About a decade after the housing market crash, Gen-X homeowners still lag behind in gaining home equity compared to other age groups.
Owners aged 35 to 50 years old have as much equity as millennials (less than 35 years old), who have not had as much time to gain equity, according to the first-quarter Zillow Home Equity Report. Among mortgaged homeowners, the typical millennial owes the bank about 76% of their home's current value while the median Gen-X homeowner owes 70%.
This figure is at 56% for boomers (50-65 years old) and 45% for homeowners 65 years old and older. The Zillow report is released twice a year and tracks the home equity of more than 50 million homeowners who have a mortgage.
Home equity stands at $78,683 for the median homeowner with a mortgage, while those who own their home outright typically have home equity of $177,158, according to the report. The loan-to-value ratio for a median homeowner is 62.2.
A broad majority of homeowners (75.7%) have equity in their homes of at least 20%, which means they have enough to cover selling or refinancing costs. Meanwhile, 5% of mortgaged homeowners are close to owning their homes, and 10.4% have negative equity.
"Roughly half of American wealth is held in home equity," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Paying off the home mortgage is a key step toward retirement for most Americans, and it's clear from these results that Generation X is further from that goal than older generations because of the Great Recession. The good news is that home values are still growing relatively fast in most places, building up home equity for homeowners who rely on the investment they've made in their home."
Related stories:
Almost a third of Americans still feel sting of Great Recession – study
US housing market has returned to normal say academics
