(08/02/2010) Revealing the lingering effects of the housing market's hangover, the
level of homeownership in the second quarter this year sank to
its lowest rate in nearly 11 years.
In the second quarter of 2010, owner-occupied households represented 66.9
percent of all households, a number not seen since the fourth quarter of
1999. The rate was down from 67.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and
down from 67.4 percent in the second quarter a year ago, according to the
Commerce Department.
Vacancy rates also suffered déjà vu.
The 2.5 percent homeowner vacancy rate was 0.1 percentage point lower
than last quarter, and identical to the same period a year ago. The number
reflects the share of homes that were unoccupied and for sale.
Likewise, rental vacancies stood at 10.6 percent, unchanged from both the
first quarter and this time last year and the highest rate since the
Commerce Department started keeping track in 1965.
Despite a nationwide housing fire sale and mortgage rates that have been on
record-breaking slide, the outlook for a homeownership rate reversal remains
bleak for the near future.
Americans just aren't in a buying mood, according to the Conference
Board's latest consumer confidence survey. The New York-based
research group's index of consumer sentiment fell to 50.4 in July, the
lowest level in five months.
Other second quarter findings from the Commerce Department:
• Rental vacancies were highest in the South (13.2 percent), while
rates were lower in the Northeast (8.3 percent) and West (8.0 percent).
• Approximately 86 percent of the nation's housing units were
occupied, 14.4 percent were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units comprised
57.3 percent of all housing, while renter-occupied housing accounted for 28.3 percent.
• Homeownership rates were highest for householders
65 years old and up (80.4 percent) and lowest for the under-35 crowd (39.0
percent). The rates for householders ages 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64 were lower
than their respective rates a year ago, while those householders younger
than 35 and those 65 years and over showed no significant change from their
corresponding rates in the second quarter of 2009.
Crystal
Chow is a DeadlineNews Group associate editor who contributed to this
article.
Follow the link to continue reading the related articles
