A strong majority of Americans remain committed to owning their own homes with the homeownership rate hovering at 65.5% in the second quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau said Friday.
That rate is mostly unchanged from the second quarter of 2011 when it stood less than a percentage point higher at 65.9%.
The national vacancy rates for housing and renting hit 2.1% and 8.6%, respectively, in 2Q.
Reviewing the data in its entirety, the homeownership vacancy rate is still 0.4 percentage points lower than a year ago while the rental vacancy rate is 0.6 percentage points under the rate recorded in the second quarter of 2011.
The Census Bureau information is in line with Fannie Mae’s recent National Housing Survey. Of the 1,000 respondents interviewed for the survey, 67% showed a preference for buying their next home. Only 28% said they would rent.
More than 70% of those answering the Fannie Mae survey said now is a good time to buy a property with prices and mortgage rates still low.
