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U.S. homeownership deeper in the cellar
Postmedia News archives The housing market has been depressed since the bubble burst. (CNS REUTERS)
LOS ANGELES -- The homeownership rate in the United States fell to 65.4 per cent in the first quarter, hitting a 15-year low amid still-high foreclosure rates and a stronger market for rents.
The rate is lower than the 66 per cent from the fourth quarter and the 66.4 per cent from the first quarter of last year, according to the Census Bureau. The rate hit a high of 69.2 per cent in 2004, before the housing bubble burst.
The housing market has been trying to recover ever since. Several reports in April suggested the market has turned a corner, with pending home sales up and housing values predicted to begin rising.
But foreclosure rates are still high and may continue to increase following a landmark settlement with loan servicers earlier this year.
In the first quarter, owners occupied 74.6 million housing units. Homeownership is down in every region, falling to 59.9 per cent in the West. That region, which has the lowest rate in the country, hasn't had such a small percentage of homeowners since at least 2006.
Rates among minorities continue to trail the nationwide numbers. Black homeownership is at 43.1 per cent; the Hispanic rate is 46.3 per cent.
Vacancy rates at rental properties fell to 8.8 per cent -- their lowest level in a decade. Rents, which are at a median $721, are at a post-recession high.
The median sales prices for vacant units -- a number that spiked in 2007 but has slipped steadily since -- is $133,700.
-- Los Angeles Times
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 14, 2012 B6
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