With an affordability crisis, elevated interest rates and investors in the housing market, the homeownership rate in Los Angeles decreased in 2024.
That’s according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by PropertyShark, which found a homeownership rate of about 65% nationally. The rate reflects the share of housing units occupied by the property owner.
In the city of Los Angeles, just over 35% of homes are owner-occupied. That’s down 1.5 percentage points from 2019 and 1.6 percentage points from 10 years ago.
Across California, nearly 56% of homes are owner-occupied. This is up by one point from five years ago and a 2.2-point increase from 10 years ago.
Homeownership surging in migration hot spots
Almost 85% of Port St. Lucie, Florida, residents owned their home as of 2024.
That represents a 4.8-point gain from 2019 and represents a 6.2-point increase over 10 years. The city had the highest rate of homeownership among 100 largest cities analyzed by PropertyShark.
Homeownership also gained traction in Arizona — another state that has seen a surge in migration since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 10 large cities with the highest homeownership rates, four were in the Grand Canyon State: Gilbert (70.7%), Chandler (68.3%), Scottsdale (66.2%) and Mesa (66.2%).
While all four of the top Arizona communities showed growth over time, Scottsdale’s homeownership increased by 10 percentage points over the past decade.
Homeownership rates were generally much lower in coastal enclaves.
Newark, New Jersey, has the lowest rate of homeownership among the analyzed cities, at 24.6%, followed by Jersey City, New Jersey, (27.6%) and New York City (32.5%). Miami (33.4%) and Los Angeles (35.1%) were also near the bottom.
Of those five, only Miami saw a historic increase of 3.8 percentage points over five years and 4.2 points over 10 years. Recent data also shows the region has some of the most equity-rich mortgaged properties in the country.
Private equity’s appetite for single-family homes may have also compromised ownership in some communities.
With a homeownership rate of only 37.9%, Cincinnati was a prime target for investors until the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority purchased a portfolio of 194 single-family homes for $14.5 million. Out of Wall Street’s grasp, the Port is slowly selling the properties to lower-income residents.
Ownership on the rise in affordable areas
Looking at the change in homeownership over the past 10 years, Arizona again came out on top. Chandler, Arizona, was tied with North Las Vegas for the top spot with a 10.3-point gain, followed closely by New Orleans with a 10-point gain.
Looking at the past five years only, Fresno, California, recorded the most significant increase in homeownership, at 6.8 points, followed by New Orleans (6.3 points) and Detroit (5.9 points).
Unlike many tech-centric communities that lost residents to pandemic-era remote work, Fresno, New Orleans and Detroit attracted pandemic in-migration with lower home prices and more affordable costs of living.
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