Homeownership Remains Primary Driver of Household Wealth!

The 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) showed improvements in economic well-being for many across income and wealth distributions over 2016 to 2019. The homeownership rate increased from a low of 63.7% in 2016 to 64.9% in 2019. Moreover, the primary residence continued to be the largest asset on the balance sheets of households in 2019 (Figure 1), accounting for about one quarter of all assets held by households and surpassing other financial assets1 (20%), business interests (20%) and retirement accounts (15%).

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial cross-sectional survey of U.S. families published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. It provides detailed information on the finances of U.S. families2, including income, net worth, balance sheet components, credit use, and other financial outcomes. This post focuses on primary residences using 2019 data, as homeownership is an important component of household wealth accumulation. BY FAN-YU KUO on FEBRUARY 16, 2021