Benefits of Homeownership
Homeownership provides a broad range of benefits to individual homeowners and society as a whole.

Homeownership Benefits Children
Compared to children of renters, Children of homeowners:
•Score 9% higher on math achievement tests and 7% higher on reading achievement test 1    
•Have 1-3% lower behavioral problems 1
•Are 25% more likely to graduate from high school 2
•Are 116% more likely to graduate from college 2
•Are 20% less likely to become teenage mothers 2
•Are 59% more likely to own a home within 10 years of moving from parent’s household 2
•Experience a 13-23% higher-quality home environment, including both physical and emotional setting 1  
•Likely to accumulate over $18,000 more wealth in the ten years after leaving their parents’ household due to higher rate of education and homeownership 3
•Earn 24% more as a young adult 4
•Are 40% less likely to be idle at age 20, and 35% less likely to rely on welfare as an adult 4

Homeownership Benefits the Community
Compared to renters, homeowners:
•Are 16% more likely to vote in local elections 5
•Are 10% more likely to work to solve local problems or know their U.S. Congress member by name 5
•Are 13% more likely to know the identity of their school board head 5  
•Give about $150 more to their churches per year 6
•Remain in their homes an average of 13 years while renters move every 2.5 years 5
•Are 12% more likely to garden 7
•Are 28% more likely to repair or improve their homes 2
•Are 16% more likely to participate in local organizations such as neighborhood associations, parent teacher organizations, and other voluntary organizations 2

Homeownership Benefits the Economy
•Moving from a neighborhood with zero percent homeowners to 80% homeowners creates a $5,000 premium, a measurement of the social benefits of a high neighborhood homeownership rates 8
•Residential home construction results in $80billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year.
•In 2001, the combined total for housing (including new residential construction, home repairs, brokers’ fees, and housing services) was $1.45trillion, 14% of the GDP.

Waco Habitat Homeowners contribute an average of $115,000 in property taxes every year.

1 Haurin, Donald R., Toby Parcel and R. Jean Haurin.  "Impact of Home Ownership on Child Outcomes," Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Low-Income Homeownership Working Paper Series, October 2001; Washington D.C.: The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and the Brookings Institution, 2002.
2 Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, April 2003.
3 NeighborWorks America (NWA).  "The Many Benefits of the Census, 5/1998."
4 Harkness, Joseph and Newman, Sandra.  "Effects of Home Ownership on Children: The role of Neighborhood Characteristics and Family Income."  FRBNY Economic policy Review, June, 2003.
5 Rohe, William M., Shannon Van Zandt, and George McCarthy.  "The Social Benefits and Costs of Home Ownership: A Critical Assessment of the Research," Research Institute for Housing America, Working Paper Series, 2001.  
6 Rossi, P.H., and E. Weber.  "The Social Benefits of Homeownership: Empirical Evidence from National Surveys," Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 7, 1996. pp. 1-35.
7 DiPasquale, D. and E.L. Glaeser.  "Incentives and social Capital: Are Homeowners Better Citizens?" Journal of Urban Economics 45, No. 2 (1999): 354-84.
8 Coulson, Hwang, and Imai 2003, p.23.