Home ownership has long been considered a staple of the American dream.
During the pandemic, it has also become a dividing line between the haves and have-nots.
As the coronavirus outbreak and rise of remote work pushed Americans to move from the city to the suburbs, those who could afford a single-family home have been able to leverage historically low interest rates to build equity and net worth.
Many are doing just that. During 2020, the homeownership rate jumped to roughly 67%, up nearly 3% from a year earlier after remaining largely flat for a decade, according to the Census Bureau.
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But high demand for housing — along with a record low supply of homes for sale — has also