The U.S. homeownership rate appeared to stabilize during the first quarter at 66.4%, down only 0.1 of a percentage point from the fourth quarter.
However, Tuesday's Census Bureau report shows that the homeownership rate has fallen 0.7 percentage points since the first quarter of 2010 and the homeownership rate is now at the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998.
Foreclosures have taken the heaviest toll on minorities. But the new report says the homeownership rate for blacks (44.8%) and Hispanics (46.8%) was unchanged from the fourth quarter to the first quarter.
This stability may be temporary since the largest mortgage servicers held up foreclosures while federal and state regulators pressed them to fix the way they process foreclosures and loan modifications.
The first quarter report also shows a 4.3% drop in the number of vacant single-family homes that are for sale.
The Census Bureau reported 1.99 million vacant homes were on the market as of March 31, down from 2.09 million at the end of 2010.
The number of vacant houses for sale rose above 2 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 as the housing market began to crash.
The homebuilders have been waiting for this inventory to drop back to its historical norm of 1.5 million to 1.25 million, because the overhang of vacant properties puts downward pressure on prices of newly constructed homes.
