How Many JP Residents Own their Homes?

Here’s an unexpected rule of thumb: the more likely a tourist is to visit a Boston neighborhood, the less likely the residents of that neighborhood are to own their own homes.

According to the city’s 2012 assessment data, Jamaica Plain's 02130 zip code has the sixth-highest home ownership rate in the city. In fact, the five neighborhoods ahead of JP on the list—West Roxbury, Roslindale, Hyde Park, Mattapan and the portion of Boston near Boston College—all cluster toward the city’s southwestern border, where convention-goers and out-of-towners infrequently visit.

The city’s neighborhoods with the lowest rate of owner-occupancy? They’re a bit scattered, but you’ve probably visited at least one of them within the last year: Kenmore/Fenway, Allston, the Downtown waterfront, the North End and Mission Hill.

A sign of community stability

So what does this mean? Jennifer Raitt, a housing planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, said owner-occupancy rates have long been seen as a benchmark for community stability, but the burst of the housing bubble has shattered some old assumptions. But, she said, there are a few trends worth noting.

First, Raitt said, planners have recently seen an increase in owner occupancy rates among residents between 55 and 85 years of age—a trend we may see reflected in the data. West Roxbury, an area known for its elderly population, boasts the city’s highest owner-occupancy rate at 73 percent.

Meanwhile, just a quarter of the people who live in zipcode 02215, better known as the Fenway/Kenmore area flooded with Boston University students, own the place they call home. Or, at least, their apartment.

Overall, Boston resident’s are slightly more likely to own their home (52 percent) than not. While that number lags both the country (about 67 percent) and the state (about 66 percent, according to 2012 census data), it puts the city ahead of other comparable metropolitan areas.

Residents in New York/New Jersey/Long Island, for example, have a slightly lower than 50 percent owner occupancy rate.

Rank

Zipcode

Own Oc. % Rate

1

02132

73.2

2

02136

69.2

3

02131

68.6

4

02126

61.5

5

02467

60.9

6

02130

59.9

7

02129

58.4

8

02124

57.6

9

02122

56.5

10

02118

55.1

11

02127

52.9

*

City Rate

52.4

12

02125

51.8

13

02128

50.7

14

02210

46.7

15

02121

45.4

16

02116

43.6

17

02109

43.6

18

02135

42.8

19

02119

42.7

20

02114

40.7

21

02111

37.8

22

02120

36.4

23

02108

35.5

24

02115

31.8

27

02199

31.3

28

02110

31.2

31

02446

30.8

32

02215

25.5