The U.S. homeownership rate in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 65.5%, up slightly from 65.4% in the third quarter and down slightly from 65.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The national vacancy rate for homeowner housing was 0.9% – flat compared with the third quarter and down slightly from 1.0% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The vacancy rate for rental properties was 5.6%, down from 5.8% in the third quarter and down from 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist for First American, notes that while the homeownership rate was “not statistically different” from the previous quarter, it is remarkable that it didn’t decrease due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
This could be partly due to pent up demand from millennials, which stayed strong despite the Covid-19 crisis.
“Millennials are still aging in large numbers into the lifestyle decisions that are correlated with the decision to buy a home,” Kushi says. “There is a longer-run demographic demand shift away from renting to home-owning driven by millennials aging into homeownership.”
Then again, the homeownership rate may have increased if new home construction hadn’t slowed during the past year.
“The issue is supply – you can’t buy what’s not for sale,” Kushi says. “The rental vacancy rate in the fourth quarter hit a 38-year low, while the homeowner vacancy rate remained at the lowest level in the series’ history. Our analysis shows that in the fourth quarter, the housing deficit increased and is now about 1.76 million units.”
Photo: Tierra Mallorca
