The percentage of American households headed by homeowners experienced its most significant decline in two decades at the end of the first quarter of 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Only 67.9 percent of households were headed by homeowners, down from a record 69.1 percent achieved in 2005.  Renter households increased from 30.9 percent to 32.2 percent, erasing gains achieved in recent years. 

The jump in renter households was not unexpected: it simply happened far faster than anticipated.  The Joint Center for Housing at Harvard University projected the number of renters would increase by 1.8 million between 2005 and 2015.  Instead, the housing market decline and subsequent dramatic rise in foreclosures pushed 1.5 million additional households into rental housing between 2005 and 2007 alone. 

Not surprisingly, rents have increased by about 11 percent and vacancy rates have fallen in many urban markets over the same period.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 8:23 am and is filed under Renting in SF. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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