Trends: Home ownership rates falling for lower-income Tri-City households

Lower-income Tri-City residents are losing ground when it comes to home ownership.

The latest statistic from Benton-Franklin Trends highlights a disturbing trend: Home ownership is rising among lower-income households across the state and nation, but not here.

The home ownership rate of households earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the median area income in Benton and Franklin counties was 45.3 percent in 2014. That’s a drop of half a percentage point over 2005. An income below 60 percent is considered low or extremely low.

Over the same period, the home ownership rate for lower-income households rose across Washington and the U.S.

In Washington, home ownership rose to 46.8 percent, from 38.2 percent. The U.S. rate rose to 42.2 percent, from 36.2 percent.

Trends notes that home ownership is critical for lower-income households because it locks in monthly payments over time, assuming a fixed-interest mortgage.

But tighter lending and credit standards can make it harder for low-income families to afford down payments, closing costs and other related expenses. Poor credit and lack of affordable housing options are also barriers, it said.

The home ownership study is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Benton-Franklin Trends is an initiative of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis at Eastern Washington University to measure economic, civic and educational statistics for the region. The website includes hundreds of reports and is at bit.ly/BFTrends.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Trends: Home ownership rates falling for lower-income Tri-City households."