US Homeowners Who Bought In 2019 Are $158,000 Richer, Study Says

(Bloomberg) --People who took advantage of historically low US interest rates to buy homes right before the pandemic have seen their wealth grow by about $32,000 annually over the last five years — even when taking the cost of home ownership into account.

Meanwhile, those who’ve rented since 2019 have missed out on a historic period of wealth-generating price appreciation, according to a new analysis from First American Financial Corp based on median home prices and rents.

“For someone who purchased a home in 2019, just before the pandemic hit and the housing market turned red hot, the wealth-generating benefit was approximately $158,000,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “A renter over that same time period cumulatively lost $89,000.”

The study assumes a potential buyer of a median-priced home took out a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a 5% down payment. The overall cost of home ownership includes expenses like taxes, repairs and insurance, as well as the mortgage principal and interest payments. If home prices increase and the annual equity gained exceeds other costs of owning, then the study deems the house “paid” the owner to live there.

The annual cost for renters is simply how much they paid in rent over a year. 

The First American analysis also found owners who bought at the peak of the housing market bubble have gained nearly $170,000 in cumulative wealth, despite losing considerable equity between 2006 and 2012. In contrast, a typical renter spent $229,000 over the same period.

The gain from a home purchased 10 years ago — the average amount of time a homeowner holds onto a house in the US — was nearly $225,000, while the typical renter cumulatively lost $148,000 over the decade.