Oct. 28--The growing ranks of renters have pushed down the nation's homeownership rate once again.
The Census Bureau reportd Tuesday that the nation's homeownership rate fell to 64.4 percent in the third quarter, a low not seen since the first quarter of 1995, when the rate was 64.2 percent.
It was the fourth consecutive quarterly decline for homeownership. In 2013's third quarter, the rate was 65.3 percent, according to the data.
Also during the third quarter, 7.4 percent of rental housing units were reported as vacant, almost 1 percent lower than a year ago, and the homeowner vacancy rate of 1.8 percent was slightly lower than a year ago. As of September, the rental vacancy rate was the lowest it has been since at least early 2005.
On a national level, the median rent was $756 a month.
mepodmolik@tribune.com
Twitter @mepodmolik
