US Vacancy Rates Steady in Q2

On Monday, the US Census Bureau released the results of its Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership report for Q2.

The national vacancy rates in Q2 were 7.0% for rental housing and 1.1% for homeowner housing. The rental vacancy rate was higher than in 2024Q2 (6.6%) but not statistically different from Q1 (7.1%). The homeowner vacancy rate of 1.1% was above the 2024Q2 rate of 0.9% and virtually unchanged from Q1 (1.1%). The homeownership rate was 65.0%, not statistically different from either 2024Q2 (65.6%) or Q1 (65.1%).

In Q2, the median asking rent for vacant rental units was $1,494. The median asking sales price for vacant units listed for sale was $346,700.

Roughly 89.6% of US housing units were occupied in Q2, while 10.4% were vacant. Owner-occupied units accounted for 58.2% of total housing, and renter-occupied units made up 31.3%. Vacant year-round units comprised 8.1% of the total, and 2.3% were vacant for seasonal use. Approximately 2.4% of the total units were vacant for rent, 0.6% were vacant for sale only, and 0.6% were rented or sold but not yet occupied.

Vacant units held off the market made up 4.4% of the total housing stock. Of these, 1.4% were for occasional use, 0.7% were temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence elsewhere (URE), and 2.3% were vacant for other reasons.