The latest homeownership rate declined to 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). While this was a modest quarterly decrease, the broader picture continues to reflect significant affordability challenges. With mortgage interest rates remaining elevated, and housing supply still tight, housing affordability is at a multidecade low. Compared to the peak of 69.2% in 2004, the homeownership rate is currently 3.9 percentage points lower and remains below the 25-year average rate of 66.3%.
Compared to the previous year, homeownership rates decreased in only two age groups. Householders aged 45-54 experienced the largest drop, declining by 1.4 percentage points from 70.6% to 69.2%. Homeownership rates for householders aged 65 years and over declined 0.6 percentage points from a year ago. Among younger households, the homeownership rate for those under 35 increased 0.2 percentage points to 36.8% in the first quarter of 2026. This age group is particularly sensitive to mortgage rates and the inventory of entry-level homes. The 35-44 age group saw a 0.8 percentage point increase, rising from 60.3% to 61.1%. Homeownership rates for householders ages 55-64 inched up by 0.4 percentage points over the same time.
The national rental vacancy rate inched up to 7.3% for the first quarter of 2026, on a steadily increasing trend since 2023. Meanwhile, the homeowner vacancy rate stayed at 1.1%. The upticks in both homeowner and rental vacancy rate signal an increase in the existing home supply.
The housing stock-based HVS revealed that the number of total households increased to 133.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 from 132.1 million a year ago. This increase was driven by both owner and renter household growth. The number of renter households rose by 0.35 million, while owner-occupied households increased by around 1.3 million over the same period.
