Homeownership rates at lowest level since 1994

Homeownership rates in 2014 were the lowest they have been in over 20 years while the number of renter-occupied residences grew by 2 million last year.

Homeownership rates in 2014 were the lowest they have been in over 20 years, according to new information released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the Midwest, homeownership rates were highest at 68.3% and lowest in the West at 58.6%. The Northeast rate was 61.9% and the South rate was 65.5%. All areas had rates lower than the 2013 fourth quarter numbers, according to the U.S. Census.

When it comes to homeownership, age plays an important factor. Older residents are more likely to own a home than their younger counterparts, according to Census data. Residents 65 or older had a soaring homeownership share of 79.5%. On the flip side, residents under the age of 35 scored much lower at 35.3%.

Race is another factor that is looked at by the U.S. Census Bureau. Non-Hispanic whites scored the highest rate of homeownership rates at 72.3%. All other races came in second at 55.3%.

Approximately 44.5% of Hispanics owned a home while Blacks had the lowest rate at 42.1%. Households with family income less than the median family income stood at 49% while households with family income greater than or equal to the median family income had a homeownership rate at 79%, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the number of renter-occupied residences grew by 2 million last year and vacancy rates for rentals fell to 7% in the fourth quarter, the lowest since 1993.

There’s a “pent-up demand for housing that’s built up as young people waited longer to enter the housing market,” Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia, told Bloomberg. “All of the reported household formation is new renter households.”

The number of owner-occupied households fell by 354,000 from a year earlier as the U.S. homeownership rate in 2014 dropped to its lowest level since 1994, according to Census data.