Homeownership Hits Nine-Year Low

The homeownership rate fell to 67.3% in the first quarter, which is the lowest level since 2000, hurting Black Americans the most. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the homeownership rate overall fell 50 basis points from 67.8% in the first quarter of 2008. During the same period, the rate of Black homeownership fell 100 bp to 46.1%, while the homeownership rate among Hispanics fell by 30 bp to 48.6%. The Census Bureau also reported that the number of vacant houses for sale fell 5% in the first quarter to 2.11 million units, down from 2.23 million in the fourth quarter. Fueled by overbuilding and rising foreclosure rates, the inventory has remained stubbornly high for nearly two years. Economists at the National Association of Home Builders closely watch this inventory number because the overhang puts downward pressure on house prices and makes it difficult to sell new homes. Over the past four quarters, homebuilders have reduced their inventory of unsold homes by 38% to 311,000 as of March 31. "Builder inventory has been falling for 23 months," according to the NAHB's director of economist forecasting, Bernard Markstein. "Once the sales pace picks [up] the inventory will fall dramatically," he said.