A significant number of renters may prefer to keep rentingwell into the future, according to DarenBlomquist, vice president for the real estate data firmRealtyTrac.

“When you consider the number of people whose very formativeyears were during the Great Recession and they saw what theirparents went through in regards to the house, they may not feel thesame about homeownership,” Blomquist said.

Blomquist visited Washington Thursday to meet withrepresentatives of HopeNow, a consortium of lenders, creditcounselors and government agencies formed in the wake of thehousing crisis to help underwater homeowners remain in their homes,and took part in a sit-down interview with CU Timesafterwards.

He reported HopeNow remains in operation, but noted theorganization once drew around 1,500 people to its mortgageresolution events and now only sees around 250 to 300. Rising homeprices in many communities have helped a lot of people regainequity in their homes, he observed.

Blomquist, who, at age 39, remains decidedly old school bycarrying a spiral bound notebook for taking notes and recordingaction items, denied his firm promoted or supported homeownershipper se.

“We collect real estate data and there are Realtors advertising on our site,” he said. “But we're notRealtors ourselves and we don't take a positon onhomeownership.”

With that in mind, Blomquist said the company has begun to seesigns of a homeownership uptick following a record low point. TheU.S. Census Bureau reported homeownership, as of June 30, 2015,fell to 63.7%, its lowest level since 1967.

“We have started to see higher rates of home ownership amongmillennials, those in their mid-20s, and some other age bracketshave begun to show higher rates of homeownership as well,” he said.“So we think it may be coming back.”

He also observed the rates of mortgage loan originations withFederal Housing Administration insurance have begun to rise, addingthat he tends to equate FHA-insured borrowers with first-timeborrowers.

Blomquist also noted homeownership is likely to come back thestrongest in places with a significant percentage of people intheir mid-20s to mid-30s and a strong job market.

“That's what helps drive a strong market for first time homebuyers, jobs and people in the market for homes,” he said.