South Sees Biggest Year-Over-Year Decline in Homeownership

Is the South falling behind other regions in the economic recovery? Trends in the region's homeownership rate suggest this might be the case. During the past year--between the third quarters of 2011 and 2012--the homeownership rate in the South fell by 1.5 percentage points. This drop was more than double the declines in the Midwest and West and in contrast to the 0.2 percentage point increase in homeownership in the Northeast.

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancy Survey