Young Seen Buying Fewer Homes

Home ownership is declining among young Americans but increasing among those 65 and older, according to a Harvard University study released Thursday.

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said in its annual report on the state of housing in the United States that the home ownership rate for those in the 25-34 age group was 45% in 1988, down from 52.3% in 1980.

Among households headed by people 65 and older, however, the rate increased to 75% in 1988 from 72.3% in 1980. The report said that many of those people already owned homes before housing costs increased in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Young people, the study found, are increasingly unable to accumulate the down payment and other costs involved in buying a house.