Home ownership rate down

WASHINGTON / The U.S. home ownership rate fell in the fourth quarter as borrowers lost homes to foreclosure and tight lending standards stalled purchases.

The rate fell to 66 per cent from 66.3 per cent in the third quarter, as low as it was in 1998, the Census Bureau said in a report Tuesday. It peaked at 69.2 per cent in June 2004 and fell to a post-peak low of 65.9 per cent in the second quarter of last year, according to the report.