Homeownership Rate Continues Its Death Fall
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on August 11, 2010
Millions of houses on the verge of foreclosure threaten to send homeownership to its lowest level in 50 years, according to new industry estimates.  Latest projections say the rate could plummet to about 62% as early as 2012 but certainly by the end of the decade. Homeownership rates haven’t been that low since they hit 61.9% in 1960.
The share of households that own their homes has been sliding since the housing bubble burst in 2006. The rate fell again in the second quarter of this year to 66.9% — the lowest since 1999 — from the all time peak of 69.4% in 2004, the Census Bureau says. Foreclosures now lume for more then 1 million homeowners during 2010.
“Anybody who knows anything about housing thought it would be flat in the second quarter,” says John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a national housing market analyst based in Irvine, Calif. “Homeownership fell during the quarter when government was offering a tax credit (to first-time homebuyers). What do you think is going to happen now that there’s no tax credit?” The continued decline — 0.5 points lower than the same time a year ago — points to a fast plunge, he says.
Burns estimates that 6 million of the 8 million homeowners who are behind on their mortgages will lose their homes to lenders in the next two years. This “shadow inventory” could push ownership rates down to 61.7% within two years, he says.
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