Ownership in U.S. hits record high
From Times wire services
U.S. homeownership climbed to a record high in the fourth quarter of 2003 as more renters became homeowners, thanks to low mortgage rates. The Census Bureau said Tuesday that 68.6% of homes were owner-occupied, up slightly from 68.3% in the fourth quarter of 2002.
The homeownership rate for all minorities -- everyone except non-Latino whites -- hit a record for the quarter and the year.
Homeownership increased for blacks but was statistically flat for Latinos from the fourth quarter of 2002 to the last three months of 2003, the Census Bureau said.
