A Renter or Homeowner Nation?

Arthur Acolin
University of Southern California

Laurie S. Goodman
Urban Institute

Susan M. Wachter
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Between the 1940s and the 1960s, the U.S. homeownership rate increased by nearly 20 percentage points, from mid-40 to mid-60 percent. The self-amortizing 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, introduced by the Federal Housing Administration/Veterans Administration (VA—now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) transformed the United States from a nation of renters to a nation of homeowners (Acolin and Wachter, 2015; Fetter, 2013).