The housing boom has officially come full circle. Homeownership rates have dropped to levels not seen since 1998, wiping out the big gains made during the 2000-2007 boom, according to a report released this week by the Census Bureau.
The percentage of Americans who own their own home dropped to 66.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, the agency found. That was a drop from 67.2% the year before. In 2004, near the height of the housing boom, homeownership rates reached a high of 69.2%.
The decline is hitting non-white homeowners especially hard. Only 44.8% of African-American families owned their own homes at the end of 2008, down from 48% in 2007. Â Homeownership among Hispanic families also dropped, from 50% in 2007 to 46.8% in the last quarter.
Western states, some of which saw dramatic overbuilding during the housing boom, suffered the worst, with a homeownership rate of 61%. Homeownership was highest in the Midwest, at 70.5%.
[Article: The 9 Worst Cities for Foreclosure]
Image: Micah Sittig, via Flickr.com
Christopher Maag Contributing writer for Credit.com, Chris graduated with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and has reported for a number of publications including The New York Times, TIME magazine and Popular Mechanics. Reach Chris via email at chris@credit.com.
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Renters would be better off today and tomorrow if the housing boom had never happened, because the stream of new construction coming online would never have imploded.
Renters are now screwed for years to come, because new construction has imploded, and rental housing supply will lag demand for years before the pipeline can return to normal.