Homeownership Rate Falls to 20-Year Low
The growing popularity of renting contributed to the lowest recorded American homeownership rate in over 20 years in a government report released today. The seasonally adjusted rate fell to 63.9% in the fourth quarter, a level last seen in the third quarter of 1994, according to the Labor Department. It had been 64.3% in the third quarter and has slipped from an all-time high of 69.4% in 2004. At the same time the vacancy rate of residential rentals declined from 7.4% to 7%.