Home Ownership Decline Lowest in 11 Years

According to a government survey, home ownership for Americans declined steeply in the 2nd quarter of the year. This was the lowest level of ownership registered in 11 years. The data releasde after second quarter numbers were in shows the drop in ownership of homes was at 66.9%. Compared to 2009, it was down by .5%. The first quarter of 2010 registered an ownership rate of 67.1%.

The decline in home ownership is due mainly to the following reasons:

• Increasing number of delinquencies.
• Increase in foreclosures.
• Increase in the number of lender repossessions.
• High unemployment.
• Consumer pessimism, because of degrading market value of homes.

All of these factors could be removed if the problem of under employment and unemployment could be solved. With foreclosures increasing every now and then, lenders are reducing the prices of the repossessed properties, which is a major concern for the housing industry.

Prospective homebuyers are in a good position, because they can get a good property at discounted prices and when the market normalizes, the market value will likely appreciate, which will leave them as winners.