| Americans may own a larger share of their homes than is suggested by a recent Federal Reserve report, according to a new nationwide survey. In its quarterly report released recently, the Federal Reserve said that in 2007, Americans’ percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time since 1945, to 47.9 percent in the last quarter. That means for most people, the bank or mortgage company owns a greater share of their homes than they do.
However, statistics from a national survey conducted by Ohio State University show that homeowners are doing better, with about 70 percent equity in their homes. The discrepancy may be because the Federal Reserve report fails to account for homeowners who have fully paid for their home and thus have no mortgage.
The survey revealed other hopeful economic news: the percentage of Americans who owed money on their credit cards, or who used payday loans, was virtually unchanged from 2006 to 2007.
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