Declining Affordability May Be Affecting First Time Buyers
Renting can be a wiser choice than owning for many people, including those of limited means and people who expect to move shortly. There are signs that rising home prices may be leading some to choose renting over buying. The rental vacancy rate declined to 9.6% in the fourth quarter, compared to 10% at the end of last year and a high of 10.4% in the first quarter of 2004, according to the Census Bureau.
New data released late last month by the U.S. Census Bureau put the homeownership rate at 69% in the fourth quarter of 2005, down from 69.2% a year earlier. While the decline itself is too small to be considered statistically significant, it is the third quarter in a row that the rate hasn’t posted a year-over-year gain — and it’s the first time since 1994 that the rate at year-end hasn’t increased from the previous year.
search for : Renting, rising home price, ental vacancy rate, U.S. Census Bureau
