Home ownership sliding according to New York Fed report - Las Vegas housing taking flak

The mortgage and real estate markets are in the midst of a major overhaul on the heels of the current housing embarrassment. The home loan sector has already seen major regulatory changes, some needed and some of dubious value. And in this climate of political gamesmanship and Wall Street lobbying more is conceivably on the way to favor large financial institutions. Mortgage lenders have also tightened considerably underwriting standards to align their operations to better handle the new market realities.

The economically significant housing sector is absorbing changes unimagined just a few years ago. One of them is the fact that homeownership is on a downward slide. The recent New York Fed's study points out that homeownership crested at a respectable 69% in 2006 and now stands at 67.3%. At this point it's down only fractionally, but this meltdown still seems to have enough legs to go another year or two. Perhaps even longer. As a result it probably will sink several more percentage points.

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