LESS HOMEOWNERSHIP, WEALTHIER HOMEOWNERS

When the financial crisis erupted, the Census Bureau reported that nearly 68 percent of Americans were homeowners. That figure sank as millions faced foreclosure, spiking unemployment left many without savings for a down payment and homebuilders scaled back construction.

Just 64 percent of Americans owned homes as of mid-2018.

The downturn sent U.S. home prices tumbling, but the CaseShiller index of home prices began recovering in early 2012. Home values have been climbing at roughly double the pace of wage growth in recent years. The result is that many would-be buyers can’t afford a home they would want and must instead rent.

In most areas—and without adjusting for inflation—home prices nationally are at or above what they were in 2008. The proportion of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth has returned to near-normal levels. And foreclosures are back to a more typical pre-crisis rate.

Those who survived the housing meltdown in good standing have prospered. Average 30-year mortgage rates plunged from roughly 6 percent to as low as 3.3 percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Some people used the lower rates to refinance their mortgages and save money. As a result, the Census said the median monthly cost for a homeowner was $1,491 in 2016—roughly $170 less than in 2010.

Still, the recovery has been uneven. In such markets as Los Angeles, Dallas and Denver, home prices have eclipsed their pre-crisis highs the past decade. Others—Chicago, Baltimore and Phoenix, among them— remain well below their peak prices.

— Josh Boak and Alex Veiga