US Census Bureau Releases Q3 Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report

On Tuesday (10-31-23), the US Census Bureau released its Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report for Q3.

According to the report, the national vacancy rate in Q3 was 6.6% for rental housing and 0.8% for homeowner housing. The rental rate is higher than the 6.0% rate recorded in 2022Q3 and the 6.3% rate recorded in 2023Q2. Meanwhile, the homeowner vacancy was not statistically different than 0.9% in 2022Q3 but higher than 0.7% in 2023Q2.

The homeownership rate of 66.0% was virtually the same as the rate in 2022Q2 but not statistically different from 65.9% recorded in 2023Q3.

Other highlights from the report include the following:

• The median asking rent for vacant for-rent units was $1,462.
• The median asking sales price for vacant for-sale units was $314,200.
• Approximately 89.6% of the 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%.
• Year-round vacant units comprised 8.0% of total housing units, while 2.4% were vacant for seasonal use.
• Approximately 2.2% of the total units were vacant for rent, 0.5% were vacant for sale only, and 0.7% were rented or sold but not yet occupied.
• Vacant units that were held off market comprised 4.6% 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.