In U.S., Home Ownership Hits a Record 66%

Buoyed by a strong national economy and low mortgage rates, the U.S. rate of home ownership reached the highest level ever reported--66%--in the third quarter of this year, with record numbers of African Americans, Latinos and women owning their own homes, according to government figures released Thursday.

In California, where high real estate prices have kept homeownership levels below nationwide figures, the third-quarter rate crept up to 55.7% from the 55% last year. Orange County reported one of the largest gains among metropolitan areas, with the third-quarter homeownership rate rising four percentage points from last year to 65.5%. The rate in the Los Angeles metropolitan area rose 0.7% to 47.4%

Homeownership levels should continue to creep up thanks to continued--albeit slower--economic expansion and changing demographics that raise demand for housing, according to economists. In California, homeownership levels should continue to rise as the state’s economic recovery takes hold and home prices rebound from a deep slump, said Howard Roth, regional economist for Bank of America.

“When we get [1997] numbers, we will see a pickup [in homeownership] as a sign of improved consumer confidence that prices will actually go up here,” he said.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, a total of 67.6 million households nationwide owned their own home, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. homeownership rate was up from the previous quarter’s 65.7%.

The previous record high--65.5%--was reached in 1980.

“The last few years have been extremely good for home building and for private homeownership,” Vice President Al Gore said at a news conference Thursday announcing the housing results.

The proportion of minority households owning homes has also risen, reaching 46% in the third quarter from 45.7% in the previous quarter. The homeownership rate stood at 43% among Latinos and 45.8% among African Americans. The rate for households headed by a woman stood at 51.4%.

Strategies to increase homeownership are “transforming homeownership from a distant dream into a sweet reality” for families, said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

The rise in homeownership in recent years may have also benefited as immigrants and the youngest members of the baby-boom generation have moved into the real estate market, according to Roth at Bank of America.