July 28--The nation's homeownership rate continued its decline in the second quarter, dropping to a 48-year low, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
The homeownership rate slid to 63.4 percent, down from 63.7 percent in the first quarter and 64.7 percent in 2014's second quarter. The last time homeownership was so low was in the first quarter of 1967, when the rate was 63.3 percent.
With some of those former homeowners becoming renters, the rental vacancy rate took a deeper slide in the 2nd quarter, down to 6.8 percent, from 7.5 percent a year earlier. The dip wasn't as steep from the first quarter when the rental vacancy rate was 7.1 percent.
Rental vacancy rates aren't as low in the Midwest and Northeast corridors as they are in the South and West, according to the Census Bureau.
crshropshire@tribupub.com
