conducted by the National Association of Realtors suggested that the share of first-time buyers who purchased an existing home amounted to 35 percent of total sales in June, up from an average of 29 to 32 percent recorded over the past eight years.<\/span><\/p>\nThe homeownership rate increased across the board for all race categories compared to the second quarter of last year. Black homeownership rates improved the most, increasing from 40.6 percent in Q2 2019 to 47.0 percent in Q2 2020. Racial inequality in homeownership still persists, however. The rate of non-Hispanic whites who own their own home equated to 76 percent during the same period.<\/p>\n
The data collection method employed by the US Census Bureau was affected by the onset of COVID-19. The agency suspended in-person interviews and instead relied upon telephone interviews to gather information during the second quarter. This may have skewed the results in a positive direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe housing market is doing really well,\u201d said realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. \u201cIt’s likely the homeownership rose, but I don’t think it’s likely that it rose that much.\u201d<\/p>\n
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