Homeownership Rate, Homeowner Vacancy Rates See Slight Dip in 2Q
The national homeownership rate fell slightly in the second quarter to 64.1 percent, the Census Bureau reported yesterday.
The report also said national vacancy rates in the second quarter were 6.8 percent for rental housing (unchanged from the first quarter) and 1.3 percent for homeowner housing, an 0.1 percent drop from the first quarter and an 0.2 percent drop from a year ago.
“The data from the second quarter Housing Vacancy Survey continue to show a lack of housing supply across the country,” said Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. “The homeowner vacancy rate, at 1.3 percent, is at its lowest level since 1981. The rental vacancy rate (at 6.8 percent) also remains quite low, but has leveled out over the past few quarters.”
Fratantoni said given this lack of housing inventory, household formation remains constrained, with nearly 1.2 million new households formed over the past year, and the majority of those new households choosing to rent. “As a result, the homeownership rate has dropped a bit,” he said. “Looking ahead, we expect that underlying housing demand will remain strong, given that the largest cohort of millennials are now in their mid-20s.”
Ralph McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Economist with CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said despite the dip in the homeownership rate, total household growth remains strong. , topping 1% for seven consecutive quarters.
“This continues the most significant streak of household growth in more than 12 years,” McLaughlin said. “While the number of new owner households continues to show solid growth, the homeownership rate during this time remained flat due to a considerable increase in new renter households. In addition, this is the first quarter where the number of new renters were larger than the number of new owners since the fourth quarter of 2016. Despite the flat ownership rate, the second quarter of 2019 experienced just over half a million new owner households.”
Other key findings of the Census report:
–The second quarter rental vacancy rate was highest outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas (8.2 percent) and lowest in the suburbs (6.2 percent).
–The homeowner vacancy rate in principal cities (1.4 percent) was higher than the rate in the suburbs (1.2 percent), but not statistically different from the rate in outside MSAs (1.4 percent).
–The second quarter rental vacancy rate was highest in the South (8.9 percent) followed by the Midwest (6.8 percent). The rental vacancy rates in Northeast (5.3 percent) and the West (4.8 percent) were not statistically different from each other. The rental vacancy rate in the Midwest was lower than the second quarter 2018 rate, while rates in the Northeast, South, and West were not statistically different from a year ago.
–The homeowner vacancy rate was highest in the South (1.7 percent). Homeowner vacancy rates in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were not statistically different from each other. The homeowner vacancy rates in the Northeast and West were lower than the second quarter 2018 rates, while rates in the Midwest and South were not statistically different from a year ago.
–87.8 percent of the housing units in the United States in the second quarter were occupied; 12.2 percent were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 56.3 percent of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 31.5 percent of the inventory. Vacant year-round units comprised 9.4 percent of total housing units, while 2.8 percent were for seasonal use.
–2.3 percent of the total units were for rent, 0.7 percent were for sale only and 0.8 percent were rented or sold but not yet occupied. Vacant units that were held off market comprised 5.5 percent of the total housing stock–1.6 percent were for occasional use, 1.0 percent were temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence elsewhere and 3.0 percent were vacant for other reasons.
–The second quarter homeownership rate was highest in the Midwest (68.0 percent), followed by the South (66.0 percent), the Northeast (61.2 percent) and the West (59.3 percent).
–The second quarter homeownership rate was highest for those householders ages 65 years and over (78.0 percent) and lowest for those householders under 35 years of age (36.4 percent). The homeownership rates for
–The second quarter homeownership rate for non-Hispanic White Alone householders reporting a single race was highest at 73.1 percent. The rate for Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Alone householders was second at 57.7 percent and Black Alone householders was lowest at 40.6 percent. The homeownership rate for Hispanic householders (who can be of any race) was 46.6 percent.
