Five years ago, homeowner tenure in the United States — that is, how long people stay in their homes — peaked at 13.4 years. Then the pandemic sparked a moving frenzy, putting a serious dent in that number. Even so, according to a new study by Redfin, Americans aren’t moving nearly as often as they did 20 years ago.
By 2024, the median homeowner tenure nationwide had slipped to about 11.8 years, according to the study. That was still almost double the duration in 2005: 6.5 years. And in California, it had stretched to nearly 20 years.
To track where people keep their homes the longest, researchers looked at the 41 most populous U.S. metros where adequate data was available in county records between 2014 and 2024. Los Angeles topped the list in 2024 with a median tenure of 19.4 years, the longest on record for the area. San Jose, Calif., was second, with a median tenure of about 18 years. Cleveland, San Francisco and Providence, R.I., followed.
Two of those California metros saw the largest increase in homeowner tenure over the last 10 years: Los Angeles (up 4.8 years) and San Jose (4.6 years), followed by San Francisco (4.2 years).
Why do Californians cling to their homes so long? Proposition 13 has a lot to do with it. An outcry against rising property taxes led to the 1978 law, which set tax rates at 1 percent of a home’s assessed value at the time of purchase. Annual increases were limited to 2 percent, no matter how much the home rose in value. So residents were compelled to stay put, wary of buying a new home with a higher value.
Nationally, the swell in homeowner tenure has more to do with high mortgage rates. Homeowners generally have lower interest rates on their existing loans than are available for new purchases, and more baby boomers and Gen X-ers, who make up the bulk of American homeowners, are choosing to age in place. With home prices also rising, can you blame people for sticking around?
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