Virginia and Arizona have outpaced the nation as a whole in homeownership gains since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
The two states posted increases in homeownership rates topping 8% from the first quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of this year, the most recent period for which data is available.
Virginia's homeownership rate jumped 8.5% in that time and stood at 73% in the second quarter. Arizona's increased 8.1% to 69.2% from the first quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2024, according to the Census Bureau. Nationally, the homeownership was 65.6% in the second quarter.
The national "homeownership rate of 65.6[%] was not statistically different from the rate in the second quarter 2023, 65.9[%], and virtually the same as the rate in the first quarter 2024, 65.6[%],” the Census Bureau said in a statement.
Oklahoma and Oregon led states that saw the largest losses in homeownership from the start of the pandemic until now.
The national home vacancy rate stood at 0.9% in the second quarter and marked an increase from the second quarter a year earlier, when the rate was 0.7%, according to the Census Bureau. The second-quarter rate also marked an increase from the first quarter, when it was 0.8%.
When the homeownership and vacancy rates per state are compared to one another, there are some notable outliers. Most states with high homeownership rates have lower vacancy rates, but in some that is not the case.
West Virginia had the highest homeownership rate at 78.4%, but the state also had a vacancy rate of 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau.
Louisiana recorded the highest vacancy rate of any state at 1.8%. It had a homeownership rate of 67.4%.