The homeownership rate in the U.S. rose for a second straight quarter as job growth and loosening credit put an end to almost two years of steady declines.
The share of Americans who own their homes was 63.8% in the fourth quarter, up from 63.7% in the previous three months, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. The increase followed one in the third quarter after a string of declines that started in late 2013.
Buoyed by the improving U.S. employment rate, renters are jumping back into homeownership. Sales of existing homes jumped 14.7%, the most on record, in December, with first-time buyers accounting for 32% of purchases, matching the highest share since August, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"The homeownership rate has found a floor," Matthew Pointon, U.S. property economist for Capital Economics Ltd., said in a phone interview. "We expect it to rise very gradually over the next few years."
The rate, while up from a 48-year low in the second quarter, remains below the peak of 69.2% reached in June 2004.
