In April 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau released data that showed the national homeownership rate tied the record rate of 68.6 percent originally set in the fourth quarter of 2003. There were some 72.76 million homeowners in the first quarter of 2004, an increase of 16,000 from the fourth quarter of 2003 and an increase of 1.02 million from the first quarter of 2003. In addition, the first quarter rate is up 0.6 percentage points from the first quarter of 2003.
Moreover, a majority of minority households continue to become homeowners, reaching a quarterly record of 50.8 percent in the first quarter of 2004, up 0.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2003. There are now 14.86 million minority homeowners, up 8,000 from the fourth quarter of 2003 and up 637,000 from the first quarter of 2003.
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