{"id":51,"date":"2012-06-13T18:17:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T18:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/outsidetheneatline\/2012\/06\/13\/free-and-clear-mortgage-status-data-from-the-american-community-survey-and-2010-census\/"},"modified":"2012-06-13T18:17:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T18:17:00","slug":"free-and-clear-mortgage-status-data-from-the-american-community-survey-and-2010-census","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-dev.lib.uconn.edu\/outsidetheneatline\/2012\/06\/13\/free-and-clear-mortgage-status-data-from-the-american-community-survey-and-2010-census\/","title":{"rendered":"“Free and clear” mortgage status data from the American Community Survey and 2010 Census"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Despite the expansion of mortgage debt in the last decade, according to the latest American Community Survey data one third of owner-occupied households<\/i> (i.e. those owning – not renting or leasing – their house, condo, apartment, etc.) own their homes “free and clear” of any mortgage or home equity loan. In gathering this data, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey questionnaire<\/a> asks whether owner-occupied properties have a “mortgage, deed of trust, or similar debt,” and in the absence of any primary mortgage, whether there is a second mortgage or home equity loan (questions 19 and 20). Nationally, more than 24 million homes<\/a> – 32.8% of owner-occupied housing units – have no primary or secondary mortgages. The prevalence of free and clear mortgage status for owner-occupied housing units varies regionally from 23.5% in Maryland, to 50.3% in West Virginia:<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Connecticut lags slightly behind the national average in the percentage of owner-occupied housing units owned free and clear in the state; according to American Community Survey 2010 data, 28.5% of owner-occupied homes in Connecticut have no mortgage debt. Of these households, trends in the age of the householders, and median household income, were consistent with national trends. About 60% of the householders (the individual completing the ACS questionnaire) in mortgage-free households were 65 or older; 39% were aged 35-64, and only 1.4% were under 35. In Connecticut, as in all states, median household income in owner-occupied homes is significantly less than in households where the home is mortgaged. Median household income in Connecticut among households carrying a mortgage was $94,298, while median income in mortgage-free households was $52,435.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Homeownership and mortgage status data were also gathered by the 2010 Census. Question 3 of the 2010 Census questionnaire<\/a> asked if the housing unit was either “owned by you or someone in this household with a mortgage or loan? Include home equity loans”, <\/i>or “owned by you or someone in this household free and clear (without a mortgage or loan)”. For mortgage status information at the town level, the Census 2010 data provides more current data than the ACS 5-year Estimates. According to 2010 Census figures, 26.4% of owner-occupied homes in Connecticut were owned free and clear (slightly less than the figures published for the 2010 ACS 2010 1-year estimate). Free and clear status among owner-occupied homes among Connecticut towns ranged from 16.2% in Sterling, to 41.2% in Cornwall.<\/p>\n

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For detailed data from the American Community Survey in American FactFinder, see:<\/p>\n