Home ownership rate reaches record high
By Daryl Delano -- Industrial Distribution, 1/1/1999
Data recently released by the Commerce Department shows the nation's homeownership rate was 66.8% during the third quarter of 1998. This is up from the 66% rate registered both during the third quarter of last year, and the second quarter of 1998. Most impressively, however, it was the highest level of homeownership ever recorded since the quarterly survey began in 1956.
Homeownership during the third quarter of 1998 was highest in the Midwest -- at 71.7% -- and lowest in the West, at 61.1%. The over-the-year increase in homeownership was geographically broad-based, with all regions recording higher rates during the third quarter of this year than during the same period in 1997.
Rates by age of primary householders ranged from a low of 39.5% for householders under 35 years of age, to a high of 81.1% for householders in the 55-64 year-old age cohort. The 1998 rates for both the 35-44 and 55-64 household age groups were sharply higher than rates one year ago, while rates for the other age categories were up less significantly.
The homeownership rate remained by far the highest for white householders. The 73.1% rate for this population sub-group compared with a 46.6% rate for black householders and a 44.9% rate for Hispanics.
The Commerce Department estimates that there were a total of 117.4 million housing units in the United States during the third quarter of this year. Approximately 103.5 million units were occupied at some time during the three-month period. Just over two-thirds of the units were occupied by owners, while 34.3 million units were occupied by renters.
The number of owner-occupied units was higher than a year ago, while renter-occupied units declined by about a half million from the third quarter of 1997. This trend, along with steadily rising rental vacancy rates, suggests that multi-family housing construction is set to cool in 1999.
HEAVY CONSTRUCTION DATABASE
Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago
7/98 8/98 9/98 7/98 8/98 9/98 1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999
Nonbuilding (1)
Total 12,203 13,011 13,638 -1.6 -1.5 2.8 123,858 125,064 131,253 4.8 0.9 5
Public 8,317 8,911 9,524 -3.2 -3.5 3.1 83,458 82,757 86,556 6.1 -0.8 4.6
Highways/Streets 4,859 5,382 5,490 -4.4 -2.1 5.5 45,196 45,306 48,314 9.6 0.2 6.6
Water/Sewer 1,536 1,564 1,737 0.3 3 7.4 16,804 16,886 17,280 2.5 0.5 2.3
Other Public 1,922 1,970 2,297 -2.8 -11.3 -4.9 21,458 20,565 20,962 2 -4.2 1.9
Private 3,886 4,095 4,114 2.1 3 2.1 40,400 42,307 44,697 2.3 4.7 5.9
Telecommunications 1,038 1,038 1,038 -3 4.3 -4.5 11,628 12,005 12,324 -1.2 3.2 2.6
Utilities/Other Private 2,848 3,057 3,076 4.1 2.5 4.6 28,772 30,302 32,373 3.8 5.3 6.8
(1) Construction Spending, Millions $. Source: U.S. Commerce Dept. Forecast: Cahners Economics.
RESIDENTIAL DATABASE
Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago
7/98 8/98 9/98 7/98 8/98 9/98 1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999
Housing Starts (1)
Total 1,704 1,116 1,576 16.6 16.9 5.0 1,474 1,590 1,515 -0.2 7.9 -4.7
Single-Family 1,300 1,253 1,246 13.6 16.5 6.1 1,134 1,234 1,180 -2.4 8.9 -4.4
Multi-Family 404 363 330 27.4 18.2 0.9 340 356 335 7.7 4.5 -5.8
Northeast 152 140 135 4.1 11.1 -2.9 137 147 139 6.5 7 -5.4
Midwest 318 308 318 5.3 11.2 4.6 304 321 303 -4.7 6.2 -5.6
South 802 776 709 20.1 20.3 1.9 670 721 688 1.5 8.5 -4.6
West 432 392 414 25.2 17 14.4 363 401 385 1.4 8.1 -4
Home Sales
Total 5,783 5,560 5,502 15.9 9.5 7.7 5,021 5,564 5,368 3.7 10.8 -3.5
New Home Sales 873 830 822 8 3.9 1.6 807 857 802 6.8 6.2 -6.4
Existing Home Sales 4,910 4,730 4,680 17.5 10.5 8.8 4,213 4,707 4,566 3.1 11.7 -3
Shipments
Mobile Home Shipments 380 368 N/A 6.7 4 N/A 354 363 361 -2 2.6 -0.7
Mortgage Rates (2)
Fixed-Rate 6.98 6.92 6.72 -6.9 -7.5 -9.6 7.6 6.92 6.94 -2.7 -8.9 0.3
Adjustable Rate 5.63 5.58 5.46 1.1 0.2 -1.6 5.61 5.56 5.54 -1.2 -0.7 -0.5
Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago Actual Values % Chg from Year Ago
Q3/97 Q4/97 Q1/98 Q3/97 Q4/97 Q1/98 1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999
Res.Remodeling Expend. (3)
Total 125.7 114.1 121.1 7.3 -6 8.6 118.6 122 122.5 3.2 2.9 0.4
Additions & Alterations 56.3 55.3 56.6 2 -9.2 6 55.5 57.2 56.8 3.9 3.1 -0.7
Major Replacements 26.1 23.5 25.4 -6.1 5.4 2 24.5 24 24.6 0 -1.9 2.4
Maintenance & Repairs 43.3 35.3 39.2 27 -7.6 18.1 38.6 40.8 41.1 4.3 5.7 0.8
(1) Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate, Thousands of Units; (2) Percent; (3) Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate, Billions $. NA=Not Available.
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