realtor.com
When people say they own their home, it’s usually a half-truth at best. Often, a bank owns the home they live in — most of it, anyway.
Still, Americans have a lot of real money tied up in their homes — on average, $150,506, according to a new report by the Urban Institute called “How Much House Do Americans Really Own? Measuring America’s Accessible Housing Wealth by Geography and Age.”
That amount represents what’s left over after the debt on the mortgage is subtracted from the home’s 2015 value. It also represents a major portion of most Americans’ net worth, making “net housing wealth” a critical element to many families’ economic future and security.
