Homeownership is up across the United States, for the first time since 2004. According to Realtor.com, the annual homeownership rate is now 63.9 percent — up from 63.4 percent in 2017. Joseph Kirchner of realtor.com said, “After eight years of recovery, home buyers have employment and confidence that they will keep their jobs, so that they can now take the plunge into homeownership.”

The rise in homeownership is due to a stronger economy and fewer foreclosures, as well as millennials who are starting families and buying their first home. Millennial homeownership was up 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 Because there are more millennials than Gen X-ers, their home purchases are making an important impact on the market.

However, according to Realtor.com, “homeownership rises with age.”

Only 36 percent of millennials owned their owned their own home at the end of 2017, compared with 58.9 percent of those 35 to 44, 69.5 percent of those 45 to 54, 75.3 percent of those 55 to 64, and 79.2 percent of those 65 and over.

Understandably, homeownership is highest where housing is most affordable. In the Midwest, 68.7 percent of people own their homes, compared to 65.8 percent of Southerners, 60.6 percent of those in the Northeast, and 60 percent of those in the West.