U.S. homeownership rate tumbles to 1980s levels

High prices for everything from groceries to gas aren’t the only things making this year feel like a throwback to the 1980s.

After almost a decade of gains, homeownership in the U.S. also has slipped back to levels seen about four decades ago (see chart below), when former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was waging a battle against high inflation that pushed the American economy into a recession.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell repeatedly said he seeks to avoid sparking a recession while fighting inflation near a 40-year high, but also recently said...