ECONOMIC SHIFTS AND THE CHANGING HOMEOWNERSHIP TRAJECTORY

From 1980 to 1988, homeownership rates declined substantially for the first time in the postwar era. They stabilized and began to creep upwa rd during the 1988-94 period. After presenting a long-term perspective , this article describes and examines two of the underlying forces of this upswing-demographic aging and improved levels of affordability-as well as the impact of immigration and minority lags. Fundamental econ omic factors are then surveyed: national and regional housing price sh ifts, housing production cycles, measures of housing affordability, an d employment. Several key economic parameters of the post-recession ho using market are presented as a guide to the short-term future. Post-1 988 homeownership rates initially rose because of an aging demography. But gradually, the new affordability became part of the dynamic. The new affordability was driven by the decade-long slowdown and weakening of housing prices, lower post-recession interest rates, and accelerat ed job creation following the period of ''jobless'' economic growth.