Homeownership Rates Could Drop Further After Unsustainable Jump During Last Decade

WASHINGTON, DC – July 14, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The drop in the homeownership rate from an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004 to 66.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 reflects a decline from unsustainable levels to something closer to historical averages, according to a study released today by MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). While the homeownership rate may have bottomed out, it could fall another one or two percentage points because of tightened credit and other factors, the paper says.