The homeownership rate fell slightly in the first quarter of 2016, dashing hopes that it had finally hit a bottom.
In the first three months of this year, the rate was at 63.5%, not seasonally adjusted. That is down from 63.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to estimates published on Thursday by the Commerce Department. That puts it back near its 48-year low of 63.4%in the second quarter of 2015.
At the end of last year, economists had said the homeownership rate appeared to have stabilized and might begin to tick upward after falling for years following the housing crisis. When adjusting for seasonality, the homeownership rate in the first quarter also fell slightly to 63.6% from 63.7% in the fourth quarter of last year.
Some economists caution against reading too much into such a statistically small change in quarterly estimates. The fact that the homeownership rate is essentially flat is still good news, they said.
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