Almost 40% of homes in the US are mortgage-free

Share of homeowners paying off mortgage has increased 5.5% over the past 10 years

The trend could reverse as younger people start to enter the real estate market (Credit: iStock)
The trend could reverse as younger people start to enter the real estate market (Credit: iStock)

About 37 percent of households in the U.S. are living without mortgages.

The share of homeowners paying off their mortgages has increased by 5.5 percentage points over the past decade, according to Bloomberg, citing data from Zillow. This is in part due to an aging population of homeowners, as younger Americans tend to wait longer to buy property thanks to factors like student debt and increasing living costs. The trend could reverse as younger people start to enter the real estate market.

States with cheaper houses generally have higher rates of mortgages that are fully paid. West Virginia had the highest amount of mortgage free homes as of 2017 at 54 percent, while Maryland had just 27 percent and Washington D.C. had just 24 percent.

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The country’s median home price has gone up by more than 60 percent over the past 10 years. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small

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