Homeownership Rates Still Decreasing

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Homeownership rates have fallen to 66%, with many feeling that the housing downturn is reaching the bottom. Homeownership rates have been falling for seven years since the fourth quarter of 2004.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the nation’s homeownership rate fell to 66% in the fourth quarter, continuing a seven-year drop from a fourth-quarter peak of 69.2% in 2004.

At the same time, U.S. home prices fell 1.3% in November from October and were 3.7% below 2010 levels, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index indicates.

Falling homeownership — and prices — reflect the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression. And while there are signs that the housing industry’s downturn may at least be nearing a bottom, the impact of the collapse will be evident for years to come, economists say.

As of November, average U.S. home prices were back to mid-2003 levels, S&P says.

“Americans are less keen on homeownership knowing now that prices can fall,” says Paul Dales, economist with Capital Economics.

Even if people want to own a home, they may not be able to, given the difficulty in getting financing for a mortgage, Dales says. The National Association of Realtors says many purchase contracts appear to be falling through for that reason.

Many economists expect home prices to continue to fall this year and maybe into next year before stabilizing and… continue reading

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Government Plans To Sell 200,000 Homes

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The U.S. government is planning to sell off 200,000 foreclosed homes to private investors. The homes are being sold as rentals to help revive the housing market.

Private equity firms are jumping into distressed housing as the U.S. government plans to market 200,000 foreclosed homes as rentals to speed up the economic recovery.

GTIS Partners will spend $1 billion by 2016 acquiring single-family homes to manage as rentals, Thomas Shapiro, the fund’s founder said. That followed announcements this month that GI Partners, a Menlo Park private equity fund, expects to invest $1 billion, and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP will spend $450 million on similar housing.

“It’s a massive market,” Shapiro said in a telephone interview from New York. “We’re starting to see this as a billion dollar opportunity to buy rental housing.”

Creating more single-family rental properties is one of a series of programs introduced by President Barack Obama’s administration aimed at reviving the housing market. An S&P/Case-Shiller index (SPX) of property values in 20 cities has dropped 33 percent from its peak in July 2006 and 12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either delinquent or in foreclosure. Last week, the administration revised its Home Affordable Modification Program, offering government incentives for mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMCC) when they forgive debt on homes that lost value as a way of preventing delinquent borrowers from… continue reading

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