Homeownership & Vacancy Rates (Q1)

The homeownership rate edged up in the first quarter of 2017, but a recovery has been held back by the low number of homes available to buy. In turn, the shortage of existing homes is, in part, down to the large number of vacant homes being held back from sale. The increase in the number of such homes at the start of this year is therefore not helpful, but we still expect higher interest rates will eventually bring that stock down.