Home Ownership Lowest in 10 Years

By:: Kara Johnson | February 15, 2010

The U.S. home ownership rate fell to its lowest level in nearly 10 years in the last quarter of 2009, according to figures released by the Census Bureau.

The home ownership rate of 67.2 percent of U.S. households is the lowest since the first quarter of 2000, and represents a decline from 67.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009. However, the rate has been statistically unchanged over the past year, due to the survey’s 0.5 percent sampling error; the rate in the fourth quarter of 2008 was 67.5.

Home ownership rates tend to move slowly, with small changes in the face of both booms and busts. The rate reached all-time highs of 69.2 twice during 2004, but have been gradually declining since. By contrast, home ownership had been generally rising during the previous 20 years, gradually trending up from a low of 63.5 at the end of 1985.

The number of owner-occupied homes increased by more than 1 million in 2009, reaching 111,711,000 units, up from 110,668,000 at the end of 2008. The number of occupied rental units increased by about 700,000 units, to 36,673,000.

The rental vacancy rate fell to 10.7 percent of all available rates in the fourth quarter of 2009, down from 11.1 percent in the third quarter. Rental vacancies have generally been increasing the past three years, despite increasing foreclosures that would seem to create greater demand for rental properties. The rental vacancy rate stood at 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2006 and had been generally rising since. The peak of 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009 was the highest rental vacancy rate in at least 13 years.

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