US Census Bureau Releases Q2 Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report

On Wednesday (8-2-23), the US Census Bureau released its Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report for 2023Q2.

According to the report, the national vacancy rates in Q2 were 6.3% for rental housing and 0.7% for homeowner housing. Year-over-year, the Q2 rental vacancy rate of 6.3% was higher than the 5.6% rate in 2022Q2 but not statistically different than the 2023Q1 rate of 6.4%.

The homeowner vacancy rate of 0.7% was lower than the 0.8% rate reported in 2022Q2 but not statistically different than the 2023Q1 rate of 0.8%. Similarly, the homeownership rate of 65.9% in Q2 was not statistically different from the rate of 65.8% in 2022Q2 and 66.0% in 2023Q1.

Other highlights from the report include the following:

• The median asking rent for vacant for-rent units was $1,445.
• The median asking sales price for vacant for-sale units was $309,800.
• Approximately 89.6% of housing units in the US were occupied and 10.4% were vacant.
• Owner-occupied housing units made up 59.1% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.5% of the inventory.
• Vacant year-round units comprised 7.9% of total housing units, while 2.4% were vacant for seasonal use.
• Approximately 2.1% of the total units were vacant for rent; 0.4% were vacant for sale only; and 0.7% were rented or sold but not yet occupied.
• Vacant units that were held off the market comprised 4.7% of the total housing stock—1.4% were for occasional use; 0.8% were temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence elsewhere; and 2.5% were vacant for a variety of other reasons.