America

Low interest rates and tax cuts on investment income for the wealthiest Americans has helped to push home ownership rates to the highest levels in U.S. history. Some 68 percent of American householders own their own homes. The number of new homes built in the United States annually has reached roughly 1.4 million, also a record. More than 40,000 new homes are built annually in Michigan, according to figures compiled by Michigan State University's Land Policy Program. Yet the mismatch between rising living costs and stagnant working wages also is pushing homeownership rates down in some states, including Michigan, and contributing to housing shortages. Some 73.8 percent of Michigan householders owned their homes in 2000, according to the U.S. Census, down from a record 74.4 percent in 1970. Michigan is one of 11 states that have seen homeownership rates decline since 1970.