US homeownership rate falls to 20-year low in 4th quarter

[WASHINGTON] US homeownership fell to a 20-year low in the fourth quarter as more Americans opted to rent rather than buy a house, government data showed on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted home ownership rate slipped to 63.9 per cent, the lowest since the third quarter of 1994, the Commerce Department said. The rate, which peaked at 69.4 per cent in 2004, was 64.3 per cent in the third quarter.

The residential rental vacancy rate dropped four-tenths of a per centage point to 7.0 per cent in the fourth quarter.

REUTERS