Americans still favor home ownership. The U.S. homeownership rate continues to remain around 65.5 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau reported late last week. The home ownership rate is nearly the same as it was in the second quarter of 2011 at 65.9 percent.

The Census Bureau also reported that vacancy rates for housing were 2.1 percent and vacancy rates for renting were 8.6 percent in the second quarter.

The home ownership rate peaked at 69.2 percent in 2004. Home owners outnumber renters in nearly 100 percent of the nation’s 3,095 counties evaluated by the Census.

Keweenaw County, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, posted one of the best home ownership rates: 89.8 percent.

Source: “National Home Ownership Rate Is Pegged at 65 Percent,” The Business Journals (Sept. 28, 2012)