Homeownership down in third quarter

Fewer Americans appear to be moving into homes, according to new homeownership data from the Census Bureau.

The agency reported that in the third quarter, the national homeownership rate stood at 66.9 percent, essentially flat from the previous quarter but down 0.7 percentage points from the same time period a year ago, when homeownership reached 67.6 percent. It was also well below homeownership's peak of 69.1 percent, which was reached in 2005.

Additionally, the national vacancy rate held steady from the second quarter at 2.5 percent, although that is down from 2.7 percent as recent as last year's fourth quarter. Comparatively, rental vacancies actually dropped from last quarter, from 10.6 percent to 10.3 percent and well below the peak of 11.1 percent during last year's third quarter.

More Americans may be moving into apartments and splitting the rent with multiple roommates, said experts.

"There's not a lot of households being formed," Pat Newport, an analyst with IHS Global Insight, told CNN. "People are doubling up in the same house, immigration has dropped and young folks are living with four or five roommates instead of two or three."

Foreclosures could also be taking their toll on the housing market, leaving many Americans without a home and increasing the total of vacant properties on the market. According to RealtyTrac, lenders repossessed a record 288,345 homes in the third quarter.
 

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