In what some call an “alarming pace,” the homeownership rate dropped from 66.9 percent to 66.5 percent in Q4 2010.
Writes real estate reporter Diana Olick of CNBC: “America’s homeownership rate, after holding steady for a while, took a pretty big plunge in Q4, from 66.9 percent to 66.5 percent. That’s down from the 2004 peak of 69.2 percent and the lowest level since 1998. Homeownership is falling at an alarming pace, despite the fact that home prices have fallen, affordability is much improved and inventories of new and existing homes are still running quite high.”
MPF Research says a surge in rental demand will translate into a 5.1 percent average hike in rents this year.
“Demand came out really, really strong and much stronger than the jobs market would have suggested,” says Greg Willett, Vice President of Research at MPF. He says one apartment was absorbed for every three to four new jobs last year, versus one apartment per every six or seven jobs historically.
Sources: CNBC.com’s Realty Check and NAA’s Industry Insider, Feb. 15