In New York City the homeownership rate has been about the same over the last 25 years, about 32%, about about 1% from pre pandemic. Looking at the national average it is about the same 65.5%, up about 1% from 5 years ago, with small changes over the last 50 years. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N

In 2024, the average age of homebuyers hit a record high of 56.

This highlights how any statistic can be used to support a narrative.

For instance, while the national average for homeownership rates remains relatively stable, it now comes with the reality that people are working harder and longer to achieve it. On the flip side, homes today are often larger and more feature-rich than in the past, which some might argue offsets the challenge.

The real question is: which of these factors—delayed homeownership or improved home quality—has a greater impact on how people perceive their economic well-being?

Compare the savings rates and this picture no longer looks rosy due to data disappearing when averaged out.

What you have is a bimodal distribution of people who almost never will own a house and those who will. And a bunch of rich people who have whole fleets of houses.

This is why nobody should ever use averages and rates alone without a supporting histogram.