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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. According to ResiClubs analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s new annual data, 40.3% of U.S. owner-occupied housing units are now mortgage-free, marking a new high for this data series. Thats up from 39.8% in 2023. The portion of homeowners with no mortgage has ticked up almost every year since 2010when it was 32.8%. A key factor driving the rise in mortgage-free homeownership is demographics. Older homeowners are more likely to be mortgage-free, and as Americans live longer and the massive baby boomer generation ages into their senior years, the U.S. population has skewed olderpushing up the share of homeowners without mortgages. According to ResiClubs analysis, 54% of the 35 million U.S. homeowners who are mortgage-free are 65 years old or older. People aged 65 and older make up more than a third (34.1%) of current U.S. homeowners. Among those 65 and older, 64% own their primary homes free and clear. Across the country, mortgage-free status varies A LOT. Regions with lower home values and areas with a higher proportion of older populations tend to have a slightly higher percentage of homeowners without mortgages. Among the 200 largest U.S. metros by population, these 5 have the HIGHEST percentage of mortgage-free homeowners: 61.8% > McAllen, TX 57.8% > Brownsville, TX 57.1% > Beaumont, TX 56.2% > Kingsport, TN 55.8% > Longview, TX Among the 200 largest U.S. metros by population, these 5 have the LOWEST percentage of mortgage-free homeowners: 26.4% > Washington, DC 27.0% > Provo, UT 27.1% > Denver, CO 27.2% > Greeley, CO 28.8% > Ogden, UT Click here to view an interactive version of the map below Mortgage-free homeownership has reached a new high. Demographicsparticularly the aging of baby boomersis a key force behind this trend. In the years ahead, ResiClub expects more equity products (such as reverse mortgages) to emerge and expand, as some older mortgage-free homeowners look to tap into the equity theyve built without selling their homes.
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Like clockwork, every few years viral relationship tests or theories will resurface online, prompting renewed discourse about the state of romantic unions. The latest test doing the rounds: the bird theory.” The idea first went viral two years ago but has recently resurfaced on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The concept is simple: Point out something mundane to your partner, like spotting a bird, then watch how they react. If your partner matches your enthusiasm or reacts with curiosity, then congratulationstheyre a keeper. The thinking goes that if they respond with interest to your attempts at connection, they’re emotionally invested in the relationship. If they ignore you, react with indifferenceor worse, get frustratedwell, your relationship might be in trouble. The theory resurfaced after a video by @keketherealmrsjones went viral this month. The day I realize Husband doesnt want me the caption read, as the clip shows her trying, and failing, to engage her husbands attention. The video currently has over 56 million views. Before anyone gets married please test the bird theory, one commenter wrote. I keep telling people about the bird theory and they just wont listen, another added. Many have also jumped on the trend to test their unwitting partners, mostly to positive results. Turns out, the bird theory is not just TikTok pseudoscience: It’s grounded in real research by psychologist John Gottman. Gottman refers to bids (not birds) as the fundamental unit of emotional communication. His research suggests that the way in which partners respond to these bidsby “turning towards” and engaging with the bid or “turning away” and ignoring itis a strong predictor of a relationship’s long-term success. A bid for attention, affirmation, affection, or any other positive connection, could be as simple as smiling, reaching for a hand, requesting help, or, yes, pointing out a bird. Gottman published a paper in the Journal of Marriage and the Family in 1998 sharing the results of a study based on 130 newlyweds. Six years later, the couples that were going from strength to strength were the ones who, 86% of the time, turned toward each other’s bids for connection. The couples who didn’t? Only 33% were still together. According to Gottmans findings, couples who ignore each others bids about 5080% of the time are far more likely to divorce. While microtesting your relationship isnt always advised, use at your own risk.
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that he is about make good on a threat to revoke millions in federal funds for California because he says the state is illegally issuing commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens.In an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Duffy said Gov. Gavin Newsom has refused to comply with Department of Transportation rules that require the state to stop issuing such licenses and review those already issued.“So, one, I’m about to pull $160 million from California,” Duffy said. “And, as we pull more money, we also have the option of pulling California’s ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses.”Eva Spiegel, a spokesperson for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, said the Trump administration “has no legitimate basis” to withhold federal highway transportation funds.“The federal government previously allowed commercial driver’s licenses for asylum seekers and refugees and on September 26 announced emergency regulations to cease this practice that went into effect on September 29. California is in compliance with these regulations and will remain in compliance with federal law,” Spiegel said via email.When Duffy threatened to revoke funds last month, a spokesperson for Newsom dismissed the attack and noted that CDL holders from California have a significantly lower rate of crashes than both the national average and that of Texas, which is the only state with more licensed commercial drivers.Last month the Transportation Department tightened commercial driver’s license requirements for noncitizens after three fatal crashes that officials said were caused by immigrant truck drivers. Only three specific classes of visa holders will be eligible for CDLs under the new rules and states must verify an applicant’s immigration status in a federal database. The licenses will be valid for up to one year unless the applicant’s visa expires sooner.Duffy said last month that California should never have issued 25% of 145 licenses investigators reviewed. He cited four California licenses that remained valid after the driver’s work permit expired sometimes years after. The state had 30 days to come up with a plan to comply or lose funding.A nationwide commercial driver’s license audit began after officials say a driver in the country illegally made a U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people. It found licenses that were issued improperly in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.Duffy said Sunday that California has unlawfully issued tens of thousands of these licenses to noncitizens.“So you have 60,000 people on the roads who shouldn’t have licenses,” Duffy said. “They’re driving fuel tankers, they’re driving school buses, and we have seen some of the crashes on American roadways that come from these people who shouldn’t have these licenses.”Duffy said earlier this month that he would withhold $40 million from California because it is the only state that is failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers. California defended its practices in a formal response to the Transportation Department, but federal officials were not satisfied.The investigation launched after the Florida crash found what Duffy called significant failures in the way California is enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English rules predate the crash. Associated Press
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