Americans are renting apartments and houses at the highest level since President Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership in 2002, reports The New York Times.

The percentage of homeowners, as opposed to renters, fell from 69.1% to 67.8% this year, the sharpest decline in 20 years, according to census data through the end of March.

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding real estate, Diligent Investors editor Todd Schoenberger, is bullish on one particular shopping-center REIT that’s paying a 7.5% dividend yield.