Housing Crisis
Catherine Zeta-Jones and the U.S. Homeownership Divide
Catherine Zeta-Jones, born in Swansea, Wales, to working-class parents, came from humble beginnings. She told The Sunday Times that she and her husband, Michael Douglas, enjoy a life of homeownership with four properties: one in Canada, one in Spain, and two in New York — a country house and an apartment. She said, “I know it sounds very jet set, and I love to surround myself with beauty but it’s not excessive, it’s very comfortable.” The couple spends much of their time in Spain. Michael, now 80 and retired from acting, says he likes to “watch my wife work.” The lifestyle of celebrities like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, with multiple properties around the world, stands in sharp contrast to the reality for most people. Their story raises a bigger question: what does homeownership actually look like for ordinary Americans today? (RELATED: Kimmel’s Italian Citizenship: Turning Away From America) How Many Americans Are Homeowners? According to Realtor.com, 65.1% were homeowners in the first quarter of 2025. That figure is down 0.06 percentage points from the last quarter of 2024 and 0.05 from the same time last year. The rate has stayed above 62.9% since 1965, with the peak at 69.2% in 2004. Housegrail.com shows that home ownership varies by region: 62% in northeastern states like Maine and Pennsylvania 67% in the southeast and south-central U.S., from Virginia to Texas 71% in north-central states like North Dakota and Minnesota 60% in the west, from Washington to New Mexico Mortgages and Second Homes In 2023, only 39.8% of homes were mortgage-free. Mississippi and West Virginia had the highest share of mortgaged homes. California, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Virginia, and Massachusetts had the lowest. Housegrail states, “approximately 2.7% of the 78.7 million occupied homes are second homes — about 1.5 million properties. Vacant homes make up 11% of the national total.” While many Americans struggle to pay off a single mortgage, a growing number of wealthy buyers are looking beyond U.S. borders and investing in property overseas. Americans Buying Property Abroad A 2022 Coldwell Banker survey found that 67% of affluent Americans already owned investment property abroad. The largest share was held by those 55 and older. Overseas properties owned by U.S. citizens: 47,000 homes in 2019 29,800 homes in 2020 53,500 homes in 2021 61,000 homes in 2022 Top destinations to buy a home: Central America – 23% (Belize 16.2%, Costa Rica 15.2%, Honduras 15.2%, Panama 14.3%, El Salvador 13.7%, Guatemala 13.2%, Nicaragua 12.2%) North America (Canada & Mexico) – 20.5% Asia – 20.4% South America – 18.1% Europe – 14.1% Australia & New Zealand – 10.8% Caribbean – 9.4% Main reasons for buying a home abroad: rising cost of living (26.5%), surging home prices (26.5%), political climate (25.6%), and strong dollar (20.8%). While affluent buyers like Catherine Zeta-Jones and others expand their portfolios abroad, younger generations in the U.S. are finding it harder than ever to afford even a first home. The Homeownership Reality for Young Americans Younger generations are far less likely to own homes than their parents at the same age, according to Motley Fool Money: Millennials (age 27–42 in 2024): 51.5% own homes, much lower than Gen X and Boomers at the same age. Baby Boomers: At age 30, around 60% owned homes. By their early 40s, about 70%. Gen Z (under 27 years old): Only a small share own homes, in the single digits to low teens. These numbers show a sharp generational divide, but they also beg the question: why are young Americans falling so far behind? Why Young People Struggle Housing Costs: Home prices have outpaced wages. Student Debt: Younger buyers carry more education debt. Delayed Milestones: Many aren’t getting married or having kids. If they do, it’s delayed. Mortgage Barriers: High interest rates from 2022–2024 worsened affordability in recent years. Young Americans face steep barriers, making homeownership — once a standard milestone — harder to reach than ever. (RELATED: Post-COVID Homeowners Are In Dire Financial Situation And No One Is Talking About It) The Future of the American Dream From celebrities like Catherine Zeta-Jones with homes around the world to young Americans struggling to buy their first home, housing in 2025 shows a sharp divide. For many, homeownership is still the dream. But for younger generations, it feels further away than ever. For homeownership to become more attainable, interest rates must come down. Higher borrowing costs have crushed affordability and reduced purchasing power. Lower rates would ease monthly payments, open the market to first-time buyers, and make homeownership a reality for those just starting out. Without real relief, the next generation risks becoming a generation of renters, locked out of ownership and the wealth-building it brings. With the right economic conditions, however, young Americans could finally begin to turn the tide. Forget the Headlines. Challenge the Script. Deliver the Truth. At The Modern Memo, we don’t tiptoe through talking points — we swing a machete through the media’s favorite lies. They protect power. We confront it. If you’re sick of censorship, narrative control, and being told what to think — stand with us. Share the story. Wake the people. Because truth dies in silence — and you weren’t made to stay quiet.
Post-COVID Homeowners Are In Dire Financial Situation And No One Is Talking About It
U.S. Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) William J. Pulte announced in early July that people may now be eligible to receive a mortgage using just their rental data. “My ORDER today (thanks to my boss, POTUS) will allow for Americans to use their RENT to qualify for a mortgage. Credit history will no longer just include credit cards and loans. This is HUGE,” Pulte wrote on social media. He went onto note that the agency will be “incentivizing lenders, who USE both Vantage 4.0 and FICO, with better pricing – anything to help the consumer,” and that “[i]f you use Vantage and not just FICO, for the betterment of the American people and the consumer, you should get better pricing. It’s just math. Predictive math.” If you’re likely to pay your rent, you’re likely to pay your mortgage. — Pulte (@pulte) July 8, 2025 Will This Actually Change Anything? “VantageScore thanks Director Pulte for his resolute focus on enacting credit score competition as required by the law, and promoting efficiency and affordability for creditworthy Americans,” said Silvio Tavares, President and CEO of VantageScore in a statement shared by PR Newswire. (MORE NEWS: What’s America Gonna Look Like? Shocking Video from Rome Gives Preview) “Under Director Pulte’s leadership, the FHFA’s long-expected decision to accept VantageScore 4.0 will revolutionize the American mortgage market and grant millions of creditworthy Americans the golden opportunity to own their homes.” 2008 2.0? Skeptics immediately pointed out that there will always be concerns that making it easier to get a mortgage will simply lead to another 2008 situation, where millions of homeowners will use the new system to acquire properties they may not actually be able to afford. Without the legal parameters in place for renters, wherein landlords can issue eviction notices for unpaid rent. For those who go through sudden lifestyle changes, meaning they have to break a lease or downsize to a smaller, cheaper property, the rental system allows you to do this without actually harming your long-term credit score or ability to purchase in the future. The national housing market continues to weaken. Single-Family Months of Supply: 4.17 (highest since 2016) Condo Months of Supply: 6.16 (highest since 2012) What’s hidden in the national averages is that certain states (TX, FL) are starting to look a lot like 2008. While other… pic.twitter.com/fPJOXoUSRP — Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) May 22, 2025 Under this new system, people will potentially be able to simply stop paying their mortgages. They would therefore either have to refinance, meaning their interest rates will likely go up, and their equity payments will go down — i.e.: it will take you even longer to actually own your home. (MORE NEWS: Los Angeles Burns (Again); Is The Golden State Turning Into An Open Air Prison Camp?) Those who cannot refinance will then be forced to default on their mortgage. Their property will be foreclosed upon, and this will make it incredibly difficult for them to own a property again — and in some cases, make it difficult to rent as foreclosures and mortgage defaults hurt your credit for years into the future. Many Homeowners Already Underwater The saddest part of this whole situation is that most people who bought homes between 2022 and today — with an interest rate of 5% or above — do not realize that they don’t own their home. The bank owns their home because the rate at which they are paying into the equity is significantly lower than what they are paying in interest. The improvement in affordability in Austin, TX’s housing market has been miraculous. 3 years ago, homes were 52% overvalued. Today, homes are only 6% overvalued. A severe home price correction, to go along with rising income levels, has now made Austin’s housing market… pic.twitter.com/tdQpokek8G — Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) June 27, 2025 These same people often bought properties at a hyper-inflated value, with many shoddily-built new homes selling for $400,000 or more. Not only does this mean these people will pay over $1,000,000 for these properties over the course of their mortgage agreement, but most of these properties have decreased in value. Zillow, Realtor, and other such real estate sites do not reflect actual home values, so millions of Americans are estimated to be underwater on their mortgage and they have no idea. This means they’ll be stuck in these overpriced homes, unable to sell, forced to massively overpay because that is the way the system works right now. TMM Analysis If you are ignoring the housing crisis, your head is in the sand. Writing in 2023, The Modern Memo editor in chief Kay Hill (nee Smythe) reported that the ” national median existing home price dropped 1.7 percent in April 2023, the largest year-on-year drop since 2012, according to recent reports.” And these issues are continuing to compound. There is absolutely no telling what will happen next. But the luckiest people right now are the ones who either (a) own their property outright, (b) have a mortgage rate below 2.5%, or (c) are renting. If you fall outside of these categories, you need to speak to a financial planner today, and get the heck out of your home before it is too late — and remember, it is not actually your home if the bank owns most of the equity. Requests for comment and additional information from Pulte went unanswered prior to the time of publishing.