Property Grunt

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Breaking news

US home ownership stuck at 11-year low


WASHINGTON — US home ownership remained mired at an 11-year low in the third quarter as the real-estate sector struggles to emerge from a deep slump, official data showed Tuesday.

The rate of home ownership stood at 66.9 percent in July-September, the same percentage as in the second quarter, the Census Bureau said.

It was the lowest number of households that own their home in more than a decade, when the rate hit 66.7 percent in the first quarter of 1999.

Home ownership peaked in 2004, two years after then-president George W. Bush called for expanding the "American dream" of owning a home, especially among minority groups.

Bush's policy has been criticized for spurring loose lending that allowed people with poor credit histories to obtain home mortgages, causing a housing price bubble that collapsed in 2006.


Also rain is wet.