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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Figure 2-17<br />

National House Price Indexes, 2000–2016<br />

Index, Jan-2012=100 (SA)<br />

150<br />

140<br />

130<br />

120<br />

CoreLogic<br />

Standard & Poor's/<br />

CoreLogic Case-Shiller<br />

Sep-2016<br />

110<br />

100<br />

90<br />

80<br />

Federal Housing<br />

Finance Agency<br />

Zillow<br />

70<br />

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016<br />

Note: Shading denotes recession. The Standard & Poor's/CoreLogic Case-Shiller, Federal Housing<br />

Finance Agency, and CoreLogic indexes all adjust for the quality of homes sold but only cover<br />

homes that are bought or sold, whereas Zillow reflects prices for all homes on the market. All<br />

indexes are seasonally adjusted.<br />

Source: Zillow; CoreLogic; Federal Housing Finance Agency; Standard & Poor's.<br />

seriously delinquent (payment more than 90 days overdue, with the bank<br />

considering the mortgages to be in danger of default) remains somewhat<br />

elevated (Figure 2-18). Falling delinquencies support overall economic<br />

growth because homeowners with underwater or delinquent mortgages<br />

are less likely to spend or relocate in search of better-paying jobs (Ferreira,<br />

Gyourko, and Tracy 2012).<br />

Single-family homes were still more affordable in 2016 than the<br />

historical average, as rising incomes and low and steady mortgage rates<br />

partially offset the effect of rising house prices on the cost of homeownership<br />

(Figure 2-19). Nevertheless, affordability decreased somewhat over the past<br />

three years because median existing home prices grew roughly 4 percentage<br />

points faster than median family incomes on average each year.<br />

The national homeownership rate was 63.5 percent in the third quarter<br />

of 2016, much lower than the historical average due to a variety of trends<br />

in the housing market. The decline has been concentrated among young<br />

households. The homeownership rate of those aged 18-34 was 35.2 percent<br />

in 2016:Q3, roughly 8-percentage points lower than its all-time high in 2004.<br />

The major reason for this decline is that young adults are waiting longer to<br />

get married or form households, and first-time homebuyers are older, on<br />

average, than they were in the 1980s. Second, credit availability remains<br />

The Year in Review and the Years Ahead | 101

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