Homeownership in New York Plummeting at Record Pace

Looks like New York really is experiencing a mass exodus.

Less and less people own homes in New York State. According to Property Ownership in America, rates have been steadily declining since 2014.

In recent years, however, that rate has only accelerated.

There are several reasons why that is. The first being that it's so expensive to own property in New York, it's among the states where mortgages drain paychecks most.

Secondly, New York has the third lowest rate of young homeowners in the country, meaning a whole generation is either choosing not to purchase property - or they can't afford to. The latter seems like the most likely scenario.

Read More: NY Tops List of Most Expensive States for Homebuyers

It now seems that New York's punishing cost of living and skyhigh home values is finally catching up to it because a new study found the Empire State had less homeowners than originally thought.

According to real estate experts Agent Advice, New York saw the 2nd highest decrease in home ownership over the past decade.

In 2014, about 53.1% of residents said they owned their own house. Flash forward to 2023, that number has dropped to 51.2% - which is a shift of 3.58 percent. The outlet blamed the state's property prices and cost of living for pricing out homeowners.

Said the outlet:

In particular, New York experienced a drop in homeownership rates despite having the lowest homeownership levels in 2014. This is a testament to how unaffordable the state is for many, and the popularity of rentals in the area. This could be a result of people perceiving the state as a more temporary home – particularly in New York City, which is home to almost half of the state’s population.

Only New Jersey reported a steeper drop in homeownership and reported a 5.47% drop over the past 10 years.

So, where are these homeowners going?

Apparently Maryland was the state that had the most substantial rise in homebuyers, which was a whopping 12.15% increase. North Dakota has also become a hot housing market, reporting a 112.05% jump in homeownership since 2014.

Agent Advice said they used data from the United States Census Bureau to complete their findings. More specifically, information used came from the Bureau's Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey from the last quarters of 2014 and 2023.

If you moved out of New York, what state did you move to and why? Let us know using the chat feature on the station app.

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