Homeownership at Lowest Level Since 1965

Washington, DC, July 29, 2016—National vacancy rates in the second quarter 2016 were 6.7% for rental housing and 1.7% for homeowner housing, the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau has announced.

The rental vacancy rate of 6.7% was not statistically different from the rate in the second quarter 2015 or the rate in the first quarter 2016.

The homeowner vacancy rate of 1.7% was not statistically different from the rate in the second quarter 2015 or the rate in the first quarter 2016.

The homeownership rate of 62.9% was 0.5 percentage points lower than the second quarter 2015 rate (63.4%) and 0.6 percentage points lower than the rate in the first quarter 2016 (63.5%). This is the lowest rate of homeownership since 1965.