Homeownership Remains Steady in Q1

The U.S. homeownership rate remained stuck at 68.6% in the first quarter, according to the government, while minority homeownership rose slightly.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that first and fourth quarter homeownership rate is unchanged at 68.6%. However, minority homeownership rose slightly from 50.6% in the fourth quarter to 50.8% in the first quarter. But looking separately at homeownership rates for blacks and Hispanics there was some slippage. The Census Bureau data shows that the black homeownership edged down from 49.4% in the fourth quarter to 49.3% in the first quarter and Hispanic homeownership slipped from 47.7% in the fourth quarter to 47.3% in the first quarter. The homeownership rate at the end of the first quarter of 2003 was 68.0%.