U.S. homeownership rate edging up

For the first time in a decade, new owner households edged out new renters. Household formation also rose slightly during first quarter 2017 compared to the same period a year ago.

Recent figures from the Census Department show strong gains in the homeownership rate among minorities.

Overall American homeownership was at 63.6 percent in this year's first quarter. Although that slipped slightly from the 63.7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2016, the year-over-year figure improved slightly. The homeownership rate had been shrinking since the peak of the housing bubble a decade ago.