WASHINGTON -- The nation's homeownership rate climbed a record 1.6 points over the past two years to reach a 15-year high of 65.4 percent, the Clinton Administration announced today. As a result, the number American homeowners rose to 66.1 million -- the highest level in United States history.

In the second quarter of 1996, the homeownership rate rose three-tenths of a point -- creating 700,000 new homeowners in just the three-month period, Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and President Clinton's National Economic Advisor Laura D'Andrea Tyson said.

From the second quarter of 1994 through the second quarter of 1996, America's homeownership rate grew at the fastest pace since quarterly statistics were first compiled in 1965, Cisneros and Tyson said. The 1.6 point growth rate works out to a 2.5 percent increase in homeownership.

In the two-year period, the number of American homeowners has risen by 3.3 million individuals and families. Since January 1993, the number of homeowners has grown by 4.4 million.

"This growing homeownership rate is a powerful engine of economic growth, creating jobs in the construction industry and in businesses that sell building supplies, appliances and home furnishings," Cisneros said. "Growing homeownership helps more families better their lives, create new opportunities for their children and build equity."

"Today's numbers show that homeownership is yet another way that President Clinton's economic plan has helped touch the lives of working families," Tyson said. "The President's strong deficit reduction has helped keep mortgage rates relatively low, even as the economy has strengthened and job growth has boomed. Lower deficits, lower mortgage rates and higher job growth is a good recipe for higher homeownership rates."

"Over the past 24 months, homeownership rates are up in virtually every region of the country," Cisneros said. "They are up among all racial categories, for all age groups, and for families in all income groups."

The new Commerce Department statistics for the second quarter of this year put the nation's homeownership at just four- tenths of a point below the all-time high homeownership rate of 65.8 percent, reached in 1980.

Quarterly Statistics
The statistics also showed these increases in the homeownership rate during the second quarter of this year:

Two-year Statistics
Over the past two years:

The 58-member National Partners in Homeownership -- a coalition of homebuilders, real estate professionals, mortgage bankers, and low-income housing advocates -- is working to help the strategy succeed and make more than two-thirds of all American families homeowners.

The Partners and HUD have launched major initiatives to make buying a home more affordable, faster and easier.

Secondary markets are introducing new technology and simplification in loan underwriting. They are creating better- targeted loan products to lower down payments and closing costs. The homebuilding sector is working to lower the cost of housing itself.

In addition, HUD has reduced closing costs on FHA loans by $1,000 and cut the time needed to process FHA insurance applications from two months to two days.