US homeownership at lowest level in a decade

WASHINGTON: The US homeownership rate is at the lowest level in more than a decade, hampered by a rise in foreclosures and weak demand for housing.

The Census Bureau says the percentage of households that owned their homes was unchanged at 66.9 per cent in the July-September quarter. That's the same as the April-June quarter.

The last time the rate was lower was in 1999, when the rate was 66.7 per cent.

The nation's homeownership rate was around 64 per cent from 1985 through 1995. It then rose dramatically during the Clinton and Bush administrations, hitting a peak of more than 69 per cent in 2004 at the height of the housing boom.

After the housing bubble burst, the rate has been declining gradually.