Homeownership at 66.9 percent in 3Q

More than 85 percent of housing units in the country were occupied in the third quarter while 14.4 percent were vacant. Fitch Ratings said that the current shadow inventory of foreclosed homes will take more than three years to cull through.

Homeownership remains at the lowest level in more than a decade as increased foreclosures and weak demand despite historically low interest rates continue to weigh on the housing industry.

According to the Census Bureau said the homeownership rate for the third quarter was 66.9 percent, which is flat with the prior quarter and 0.7 percent lower than a year earlier.

The rate of U.S. households that own their home peaked at about 69.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, on the upside of bubble. Prior to the second quarter of this year, the rate had not dipped below 67 percent since 1999.

Home ownership in the Northeast at 63.9 percent and the West at 61.3 percent continue to pull the overall rate down. As rates in the Midwest, 71.1 percent, and South, 69.1 percent, remain higher than other parts of the country despite being down from a year ago.

In late September, the Census Bureau reported sales of new single-family homes fell almost 30 percent in August, as demand wanes. Having homes occupied is vital to professional landscapers who rely heavily on the success of the housing market.

– Courtesy of Housing Wire