Mohamed Bughrara
Homeownership has been a valuable symbol of stability and wealth accumulation; especially among young and low income families in Pennsylvania. Owning a home is a pillar of the American Dream, so let’s take a look at trends of Pennsylvanians’ homeownership rates from 2010 to 2021.
According to the US Census Bureau,[1] in 2010 the homeownership rate in Pennsylvania was 72.2 percent, and was followed by years of consecutively declining rates for the rest of the decade. Between 2011 and 2012, the homeownership rate dropped to 71.1 percent and 71 percent respectively.
By 2013, homeownership jumped to 71.5 percent but steeply fell to 69.7 in 2014. The decline of 1.8 percent was the largest rated drop of the decade for Pennsylvania.
Homeownership continued to drop for the Keystone State in 2015 with a rate of 69.6 percent and an all time low in 2016 of 68.5 percent.
By 2017, Pennsylvania’s homeownership rates saw a marginal improvement to 68.6 percent and in 2018, rates jumped to 69.9 percent, the largest bump of the decade with a 1.3 percent boost.
In 2019, homeownership rates in Pennsylvania dipped back down to 69.2 percent but began to climb in 2020 with 69.9 percent and 2021 with 70.2 percent, the highest rate in several years.
Since 2019, the homeownership rate has been trending upwards in Pennsylvania. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has resources to aid present and future homeowner needs. So if you’re buying a home for the first time or looking at keeping or maintaining your home- make sure to visit the website if you wish to start on that significant chapter in your life.
1 U.S. Census Bureau, Homeownership Rate for Pennsylvania [PAHOWN], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PAHOWN, May 3, 2022.
