Rate highest among those aged 65 and up
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Inman News
The national home-ownership rate
remained roughly flat at 68.9 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 69
percent in third-quarter 2006 and in fourth-quarter 2005, the U.S.
Census Bureau reported this week.
The rate was 64.5 percent in the West, 65.3 percent in the
Northeast, 70.8 percent in the South and 73 percent in the Midwest. The rate in
the West dropped from 65.3 percent in the third quarter but was comparable to
the fourth-quarter-2005 rate of 64.6 percent.
The home-ownership rate was 81.2 percent for those aged 65
and up, 80.7 percent for those 55-64, 76.4 percent for those 45-54, 68.9
percent for those 35-44, and 42.8 percent for those under 35, the Census Bureau
reported. These rates remained roughly flat compared to rates in the third quarter.
The rate of home ownership rose from 80.6 percent for those
65 and up in fourth-quarter 2005 while falling from 69.7 percent for those
35-44, and also dropped from 76.7 percent for those 45-54 and from 43.1 percent
for those under 35. In fourth-quarter 2005, the home-ownership rate was the
same for those 55-64 and those 65 and up.
Among racial categories, the home-ownership rate for
"non-Hispanic white" householders reporting a single race was highest
at 76 percent. "All other races" householders was next at 60 percent,
and "single-race black" householders was lowest with a rate of 48.2
percent, according to the report, and home-ownership rates for each racial
category were statistically unchanged from their respective rates last year.
The rate for Hispanic householders (who can be of any race)
at 49.5 percent was not statistically different from last year's rate.
National vacancy rates in fourth-quarter 2006 were about 9.8
percent for rental housing, compared with a vacancy rate of 9.6 percent in fourth-quarter
2005 and 9.9 percent in third-quarter 2006. And the national vacancy rate was
2.7 percent for homeowner housing, compared with 2 percent in fourth-quarter
2005 and 2.5 percent in third-quarter 2006.
For rental housing by area, the fourth-quarter-2006 vacancy
rate was 9.5 percent in the suburbs, 10.1 percent in principal cities and 9.7
percent outside metro areas. "In the suburbs and outside (metropolitan
statistical areas) there were no statistically measurable changes in the
respective rental vacancy rates from a year ago, while the rate inside
principal cities was higher than last year."
The homeowner vacancy rate in principal cities, at 3.6
percent, was higher than the 2.4 percent rate in the suburbs and 2.3 percent
rate outside metro areas. When compared to a year ago, the homeowner vacancy
rates inside principal cities and in the suburbs were higher, while the rate
outside metropolitan statistical areas was not statistically different, the
Census Bureau reported.
Among regions, the rental vacancy rates for the current
quarter were highest in the South at 12.4 percent and the Midwest at 11.9
percent. The rate was lowest in the Northeast at 6.5 percent and the West at 7
percent. The rental vacancy rates in each region were not statistically different
from their respective rates last year.
Regional homeowner vacancy rates for fourth-quarter 2006
were highest in the Midwest at 2.9 percent and the South at 3 percent and were
lowest in the West at 2.4 percent and the Northeast at 2 percent. The homeowner
vacancy rates in each region were higher than their respective rates a year
ago, according to the report.
There were an estimated 126.7 million housing units in the
United States in fourth-quarter 2006, compared with 124.5 million in
fourth-quarter 2005. About 109.9 million housing units were occupied (75.8
million by owners and 34.2 million by renters) -- in the fourth quarter,
compared with 108.9 million occupied in fourth-quarter 2005 (75.2 million by
owners and 33.7 million by renters).
Of the 16.7 million vacant housing units, 12.7 million were
for year-round use. About 3.8 million of the year-round vacant units were for
rent, 2.1 million were for sale only, and the remaining 6.8 million units were
vacant for a variety of other reasons, according to the report.
When adjusted for seasonal variation, the fourth-quarter
home-ownership rate was 68.7 percent, which is not statistically different from
last year's seasonally adjusted rate of 68.8 percent and the third-quarter-2005
rate of 68.9 percent, the Census Bureau noted.
In fourth-quarter 2006 the home-ownership rates for
households with family incomes greater than or equal to the median family
income, at 84.5 percent, and for those with family incomes less than the median
family income, at 52.9 percent, were not statistically different from their
respective rates last year, according to the report.
The estimates in this Census report are based on a sample
survey and are subject to sampling and nonsampling error -- sampling error is a
result of not surveying the entire population, and nonsampling error occurs
because accurate information cannot always be obtained, the Census Bureau
reported.
The rental vacancy rate is the proportion of the rental
inventory that is vacant for rent, and the homeowner vacancy rate is the
proportion of the homeowner inventory that is vacant for sale. The home-ownership
rate is the proportion of households that is owner-occupied -- it is computed
by dividing the number of households that are occupied by owners by the total
number of occupied households.
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