The rate of homeowership in the nation continues to improve. The U.S. Census reported that the national homeownership rate reached its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2014.
The government agency posted a slight increase in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 64.2%, which is up from 63.7% in 2016 and up from 63.9% reported for the third quarter of 2017.
Since 1995, the country has weathered two recessions, and is bouncing-off what appears to be a firm bottom reached back in 2016, when homeownership slipped to just under 63%.
According to Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas, “The fourth quarter of 2017 was unseasonably strong, driven by buyers determined to make a deal in a highly competitive market.”
The general consensus among economists is that the nation is finally emerging from its most devastating recessions since the Great Depression back in the 1930s.
Fast Stats
+ Millennials as a group accounted for 36% of homeowners, up from 35.5%
+ Boomers and those above Millennials came in higher as well
+ Homeownership in the age brackets of 55 to 64 years came in at 75.3%
+ Homeownership in the age brackets of 65 and older came in at 79.2%
+ The black homeownership rate increased 0.1 percentage point to 42.1% in the fourth quarter
+ The Hispanic homeownership rate increased .5 percentage points to 46.6%
+ The national homeowner vacancy rate decreased 0.2 percentage points from last year at 1.6%
+ The national vacancy rate for rental housing remained unchanged at 6.9%