Over 20 Million Homeowners in the US are Mortgage Free

[bjl584]

Homeowners With No Mortgage Offer Clues to Recovery

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Sometimes here at savingadvice.com it seems as if we assume that most USAmericans are deeply in debt of all kinds. I appreciate this this reminder that plenty of people do not let their financial obligations get impossibly far beyond them.

Most interesting to me is not that many retirees have no mortgage, but that "Zillow found 34.5 percent of 20- to 24-year-old homeowners are free of mortgages."

I have wondered, too, how many people are mortgage free homeowners because they inherited their houses.

If anyone can direct me to a clearer zillow sourced CNBC map like the one posted in that article, I'd like to take a closer look.

[ThriftoRama]

I live in the midwest, and 37, married with two kids and we were mortgage free for 5 years. We bit the bullet and bought a bigger house in a good school district once the kids came along. We've had a mortgage for almost two years, and hate it! We're working hard to have this new house paid off in 4 more years. Being mortgage free is where it's at. It's doable to, if you make decisions with that as a goal.

I find many of my peers assume they will never pay off their homes and will have mortgage debt forever. It isn't true, unless you give up before you even start.

[GREENBACK]

I know that most don't agree but at the current interest rates you can lock into I have no desire to pay off my mortgage. I'm at an effective rate of 3.5% for the next 30 years or so. Last year my investments earned 20%. What's the better deal? Money to the bank or money to myself?

[DRILLINDK]

I know that most don't agree but at the current interest rates you can lock into I have no desire to pay off my mortgage. I'm at an effective rate of 3.5% for the next 30 years or so. Last year my investments earned 20%. What's the better deal? Money to the bank or money to myself?

Sign me up for whatever you're using to invest! Congrats on that return!

[kork13]

Sometimes here at savingadvice.com it seems as if we assume that most USAmericans are deeply in debt of all kinds. I appreciate this this reminder that plenty of people do not let their financial obligations get impossibly far beyond them.

Valid point. But not to be a debbie downer, but after a few quick google searches and minor calculations, the number still isn't really that great.

I'm using VERY rounded numbers here, but a quick lowdown:
US Population: 317,000,000
Average household size: 2.6 people per household
Households with no mortgage: 20,000,000
Percentage of American households without a mortgage: a measly 16%.

I know I'm ignoring hordes of assumptions there, but the bottom line is that most Americans DO have alot of various debts. Whether mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, or any combination of that and more. Not to say there isn't hope. I've also seen many reports of increased average saving rates and lower average debt loads.

[GREENBACK]

Sign me up for whatever you're using to invest! Congrats on that return!

Nothing real sophisticated, just a good year with the right mix.

[siggy_freud]

Valid point. But not to be a debbie downer, but after a few quick google searches and minor calculations, the number still isn't really that great.

I'm using VERY rounded numbers here, but a quick lowdown:
US Population: 317,000,000
Average household size: 2.6 people per household
Households with no mortgage: 20,000,000
Percentage of American households without a mortgage: a measly 16%.

I know I'm ignoring hordes of assumptions there, but the bottom line is that most Americans DO have alot of various debts. Whether mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, or any combination of that and more. Not to say there isn't hope. I've also seen many reports of increased average saving rates and lower average debt loads.

Those numbers factor in people who are renting. Yes, they technically don't have a mortgage, but my guess is the statistics are focusing only on homeowners, and not everyone.

[thesimplemoneyblog]

I know that most don't agree but at the current interest rates you can lock into I have no desire to pay off my mortgage. I'm at an effective rate of 3.5% for the next 30 years or so. Last year my investments earned 20%. What's the better deal? Money to the bank or money to myself?

Not that you can anticipate earning more each year particularly in negative or declining market conditions, but if you can earn more in savings or investments than your mortgage rate over a long period of time, you would be better off investing it as Greenback mentioned. Given that interest rates are so low now, it's a much lower "hurdle rate" than in the past to get over earning more than the mortgage, so for many people it can be attainable.