Homeownership Rate Hits Lowest Point Since 1967

The homeownership rate in the second quarter declined to 63.4 percent, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points than  the second quarter 2014 rate of 64.7 percent and 0.4 percentage points lower than the 63.7 percent rate last quarter.

According to data released by the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, this quarter's homeownership rate is the lowest since 1967. The rate has also been on a steady downward fall since 2009 when the rate was 67.4 percent for the second quarter.

The homeownership rates were highest in the Midwest at 68.4 percent and lowest in the West at 58.5 percent for the second quarter 2015, according to the Bureau's report. Homeownership rates in the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West were all lower than the rates in the second quarter of last year.

For the second quarter 2015, the homeownership rates were highest for those householders ages 65 years and over at 78.5 percent and lowest for the under 35 years of age group at 34.8 percent, the report says. In addition, the homeownership rate for the second quarter 2015 for non-Hispanic White householders reporting a single race was highest at 71.6 percent. The rate for all other races householders was second at 52.6 percent and black alone householders was lowest at 43 percent.

The Bureau also reported that the national vacancy rates in the second quarter 2015 were 6.8 percent for rental housing and 1.8 percent for homeowner housing. The homeowner vacancy rate of 1.8 percent was 0.1 percentage point lower than the rate in the second quarter 2014 and the rate last quarter.

The 2.1 percent homeowner vacancy rate in the South was higher than the rates in the Midwest at 1.7 percent and West  at 1.4 percent, but not statistically different from the rate in the Northeast at 1.8 percent, the Bureau noted.

Click here to view the Census Bureau's Q2 2015 Housing Vacancies and Homeownership data. 

Click here to view the Census Bureau's Housing Vacancies and Homeownership Historical data.