Homeownership rate drops to 15-year low

[steve2470]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/30/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSBRE83G0T120120430?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true

(Reuters) - The share of privately-owned U.S. homes fell to a 15-year low in the first quarter as falling house prices and stringent lending conditions push younger Americans, in particular, into renting.

The homeownership rate slipped to 65.4 percent, the lowest since the first quarter of 1997, the Commerce Department said on Monday, with the rate for Americans under the age of 35 dropping to an 18-year low.

"You are seeing the perfect storm of age, financing and the business cycle coming together to push down the homeownership rate," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research in New York.

The homeownership rate, which was measured at 66.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, peaked at 69.4 percent in 2004 at the height of a housing market boom fueled by cheap credit.

[lib2DaBone]

1. No surprise... Republican 1% have done everyting in their power..

.....Everything in their power to bust the working class down to less than minimum wage.. while they off-shore their profits and control all of America.

The sad part.. it was BILL CLINTON.. who signed NAFTA (NAFTA gave us the SHAFTA)...and he also signed Glass-Steegal.. which got us to this point in the history of banking.

The Dem party machine has done lots to screw Dems.. just saying....if you think NAFTA was a good deal.. pleae enlighten me..