NEWS BRIEFS
HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
Homeowner Rate At Record Low The number of Americans who own a home hit the lowest level in 51 years, evidence that incomes are stagnant and falling and that Americans are feeling the sting of rising home prices, according to the Census Bureau. According to the government, only 62.9 percent of households owned a home in the second quarter of 2016, a decrease from 63.4 percent 12 months ago. That was the lowest figure since 1965. The homeownership rate, the proportion of households that are owner-occupied, peaked in the second quarter of 2004, when 69.2 percent of Americans owned a home.
Expanded Money Laundering Program Worried that foreign real estate buyers are laundering money in luxury real estate, the federal government said it would expand a program it put in place earlier this year to crack down on real estate money laundering in the U.S. In January, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) started requiring title insurance companies to reveal the names of overseas owners hiding behind holding companies in two markets. Initially, the Treasury Department focused on sales in Manhattan and Miami-Dade counties where international cash buyers are prevalent. The new program will expand to other markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Antonio. “The information we have obtained from our initial geographical targeting orders (GTOs) suggests that we are on the right track,” said Jamal El-Hindi, the acting director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within the Treasury, in a news release . “By expanding the GTOs to other major cities, we will learn even more about the money laundering risks in the national real estate markets, helping us determine our future regulatory course.”
Source: Census Bureau
Homeownership Rate (1965-2016) 69.2
70%
69%
68%
67%
66%
65%
64%
63%
The new Treasury programs takes effect on Aug. 28, 2016, and are effective for 180 days, said FinCEN.
62.9
62%
61%
60%
Source: Treasury Department
59%
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