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Tag Archives: Homeownership Rate

Homeownership Rate Drops to 13-Year Low

The nation's housing crisis has forced unprecedented numbers of homeowners out of their homes, made for a difficult homebuying environment, and tainted many Americans' ideal of owning a home. These factors are taking their toll on homeownership in this country. The Census Bureau says homeownership in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in more than 13 years, slipping to 65.9 percent in the second quarter. The increase in the homeownership rate seen during the housing boom has been more than completely wiped out by the bust.

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Homeownership Rate May Decline Further

In recent years, the nation's homeownership rate has dropped closer to historical averages, after hitting an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004. The rate may fall even further, according to a paper by the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). The first-quarter U.S. homeownership rate was 66.4 percent, and analysts at RIHA suggest homeownership could drop by one or two more percentage points due to factors such as tightened credit.

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Inventory Overhang Means 6.5M New Households Needed

Experts blame the massive inventory of existing homes on the market for hindering the housing sector's recovery. The overhang has been inflated by large volumes of foreclosures, and it's expected to grow with millions more coming down the pipeline. One economist says it will take 6.5 million new household formations to absorb the excess inventory. He expects it will take five years to achieve that goal and emerge from the self-defeating cycle of oversupply pushing prices down, the negative equity triggering defaults, and in turn, further increasing the oversupply.

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Housing Crisis Continues to Batter Nation’s Homeownership Rate

With the housing crisis still taking its toll, the nation's homeownership rate slipped further during the first three months of this year. The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that the homeownership rate dropped to 66.4 percent at the end of the first quarter. It's fallen back to a level not seen since 1998. Analysis of the numbers shows that the housing bust, elevated foreclosures, and a diminished ""American Dream"" have more than reversed the increase in homeownership gained during the boom.

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International Monetary Fund Voices Concerns With U.S. Housing System

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has some pretty direct words for the American government and its handling of the U.S. housing crisis. In an annual report that will be released next week, IMF says the origins of the global financial crisis can be found in the U.S. housing finance system. The agency says government participation in the U.S. housing market has been ""pervasive"" but has not yielded the expected benefits to prospective or existing homeowners.

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Fannie Mae Finds Consumers Expect Home Prices to Hold Firm in 2011

Fannie Mae's latest national housing survey finds that Americans are more confident about the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of 2010, even though they lack confidence in the strength of the economy. Seventy-eight percent of respondents to the GSE's fourth-quarter survey said they believe housing prices will hold steady or increase over the next twelve months. However, almost two-thirds said they believe the economy is on the wrong track. The number of delinquent borrowers who say they have seriously considered defaulting declined to 19 percent.

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Homeownership: American Dream or American Nightmare?

Although foreclosures and underwater homes continue to plague today's housing market, a survey conducted by Trulia.com found that 70 percent of Americans still view homeownership as being part of their American Dream. In fact, more than three out of four homeowners say their homes are the best investment they ever made. Conversely, only 20 percent feel trapped in their ""underwater"" homes, while 14 percent said they would walk away from their mortgage in a heartbeat if they could.

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Homeownership Levels Lowest Since 1998, More Declines Predicted

Homeownership levels posted Monday by the U.S. Department of Commerce are, at 66.5 percent, the lowest they have been since the fourth quarter of 1998. By contrast the rental vacancy rate decreased 0.9 percent from the rate in the third quarter of 2010, and is the lowest it has been since the first quarter of 2003. Analysts say the nation's homeownership rate is likely to fall further, as evidenced by a combination of weak housing demand and high supply.

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Fannie Mae Study Finds Americans Still Aspire to Homeownership

According to a study released by Fannie Mae, most Americans strongly desire to own a home, but a number of factors, including financial caution and shrinking households, continue to contribute to a willingness to rent. According to the study findings, 51 percent of current owners and renters say the housing crisis has not affected their overall willingness to buy a home over the long term. However, one-third say they are more likely to rent their next home than buy.

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Survey: Americans Are Seeking Smaller Homes in the Suburbs

According to a new consumer lifestyle survey from Relocation.com, more Americans prefer smaller homes in the suburbs. Forty-eight percent of the respondents to the nationwide survey stated that their ideal home size ranges from 1,000 to 1,999 square feet, a significant contrast to a National Association of Home Builders' report five years ago that found the average home's square footage was 2,400 feet. The survey also found that 54 percent of Americans prefer living in a suburban neighborhood.

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