Home ownership falls to lowest level in 11 years
The number of Americans who own homes dropped in the second quarter of the year to the lowest level since 1999, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
The Census Bureau said the home ownership rate fell to 66.9% in the second quarter of 2010, down half a percentage point from the previous year. The home ownership rate was 67.1% in the first quarter of the year.
In the second quarter rates were highest in the Midwest, where 70.8% of people are homeowners, and lowest in the West, where 61.4% of people own.
Rates in the South and West were lower than a year ago, while the Northeast and Midwest stayed the same.
Vacancies: The vacancy rate in non-rental units also fell in the second quarter, to 2.5%. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate in rental homes stayed steady at 10.6%.
Almost 86% of U.S. homes were occupied in the second quarter, with owner-occupied housing comprising 57.3% of all housing units. Renter-occupied homes were 28.3% of all units.
A separate report released Tuesday, the Case-Shiller index, showed home prices rose 1.3% in May compared with the previous month.