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The housing market’s recovery from the economic downturn eight years ago is going well. Home prices are up and homes are not sitting long on the market before ending up under contract. While all of that is good news, analysts and economists note that the homeownership rate is still at historic lows.

Earlier this year, the rate dipped to 62.9 percent, the lowest it has been since 1965. Since the housing recovery began a few years ago, housing prices have climbed. It’s helped the housing market recover, and homeowners who had waited years to sell found they could unload their homes for a much better price.

The low unemployment rate has helped boosted sales as well. Still, the homeownership rate remains low. A recent study by the Pew Research Center showed that particular groups make up a large portion of the non-home-owning crowd. Minorities, such as blacks, as well as young adults and renters, are some of the population groups that are not buying homes. The reasons why vary across the different demographics.

For young adults, student debt is a hurdle. The cost of going to a college or university has been increasing, and first jobs post-graduation often make it hard to pay back those loans and save for a down payment.

Decreasing loan opportunities are cited as an obstacle for minorities interested in buying a home. Subprime mortgages and other types of loans fell out of favor after the housing market collapse. Today, it can be harder to get a loan, but loan officers see fewer owners defaulting, thanks to the higher standards. While that is good news for the economy, it does mean that fewer buyers are able to join the ranks of owning a home. From 2001-2013, minorities lost a portion of their wealth –  6.2 percent for blacks, and 6.6 percent for Hispanics. That’s contrasted by average wealth increasing 6.4 percent for white families.

Low-income families are also buying homes less often. Defined as a three-person household with less than $44,000 in income, low-income families have been pushed out of the market by higher prices. The supply of available homes remains limited, and the high demand continues to push prices out of the budget of low-income families.

Will non-homeowners be able to enter the market more in 2017? What do you think can be done to allow more potential buyers to be able to purchase a home? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: housing market, real estate, homebuyers,