Robert R. Callis For Release 10:00 AM EDT, April 22, 1996 Ellen Wilson CB96-58 (301) 763-8165 CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS ON RESIDENTIAL VACANCIES AND HOMEOWNERSHIP National vacancy rates in the first quarter 1996 were 7.9 (+/-0.3) percent in rental housing and 1.6 (+/-0.1) percent in homeowner housing, the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau announced today. The Bureau said that the rental vacancy rate was higher than in the first quarter 1995, but not significantly different from last quarter. The homeowner vacancy rate was not significantly different from the first quarter 1995 rate or the rate last quarter. Table 1. RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES: 1980 to 1996 (in percent) Rental vacancy rates Homeowner vacancy rates First Second Third Fourth First Second Third Fourth Year quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter . . 1996... 7.9 1.6 1995... 7.4 7.7 7.7 7.7 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 1994... 7.5 7.4 7.2 7.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1993r.. 7.8 7.6 7.0 6.9 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1993... 7.9 7.6 7.1 6.9 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1992... 7.4 7.7 7.3 7.1 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1991... 7.5 7.3 7.6 7.3 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.6 1990... 7.5 7.0 7.2 7.2 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1989r.. 7.5 7.4 7.6 7.1 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.8 1989... 7.3 7.3 7.3 6.8 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.6 1988... 8.0 7.7 7.8 7.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1987... 7.4 7.5 8.1 7.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1986... 6.9 7.3 7.5 7.7 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.6 1985... 6.3 6.2 6.8 6.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.6 1984... 5.6 5.5 6.0 6.3 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1983... 5.7 5.5 5.8 5.5 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.6 1982... 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.5 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.6 1981... 5.2 5.0 5.0 5.0 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.4 1980... 5.2 5.6 5.7 5.0 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 rRevised. For rental housing, the vacancy rate was highest outside Metropolitan Areas (MAs) (9.6 percent) and lowest in the suburbs (7.1 percent). For homeowner housing, the vacancy rate was highest in central cities (2.1 percent) and lowest in the suburbs (1.3 percent). Among regions, the rental vacancy rate was highest in the South and Midwest (about 8.5 percent). The rental vacancy rates in the Northeast and West were not significantly different from each other. The rental vacancy rate in the Midwest was higher than the first quarter 1995 rate, while rates in the Northeast, South, and West did not differ significantly from one year ago. Homeowner vacancy rates in each region showed no significant change from a year ago. Table 2. RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES BY REGION: FIRST QUARTER 1996 AND 1995 (in percent) Rental vacancy rates Homeowner vacancy rates Area 1st 1st Std err Standard 1st 1st Std err Standard Qtr Qtr on 1996 error on Qtr Qtr on 1996 error on 1996 1995 rate differ- 1996 1995 rate differ- ence ence . . United States....... 7.9 7.4 0.2 0.2 1.6 1.5 0.1 0.1 Inside MAs........ 7.6 NA 0.2 NA 1.6 NA 0.1 NA In central cities 8.0 NA 0.3 NA 2.1 NA 0.1 NA Not in central cities (suburbs). 7.1 NA 0.3 NA 1.3 NA 0.1 NA Outside MAs...... 9.6 NA 0.5 NA 1.7 NA 0.1 NA Northeast......... 6.9 7.3 0.4 0.5 1.7 1.6 0.1 0.2 Midwest........... 8.3 6.7 0.4 0.6 1.5 1.4 0.1 0.2 South............. 8.5 8.3 0.3 0.4 1.6 1.6 0.1 0.1 West............. 7.6 6.8 0.3 0.5 1.7 1.6 0.1 0.2 NA Not available. We are working to correct a problem with the first quarter 1995 metropolitan/nonmetropolitan data. We will issue any revisions as soon as they become available. rRevised. There were an estimated 113.3 million housing units in the United States in the first quarter 1996. Approximately 100.5 million were occupied, 65.5 million by owners and 35.0 million by renters. Of the 12.8 million vacant housing units, 9.7 million were for year-round use, while the remaining 3.1 million were intended for seasonal use. Approximately 3.0 million of the year-round vacant units were for rent, 1.1 million were for sale only, and the remaining 5.6 million were vacant for a variety of reasons. Table 3. ESTIMATES OF THE TOTAL HOUSING INVENTORY FOR THE UNITED STATES: FIRST QUARTER 1996 (Numbers in thousands) Standard Type Estimate error on Percent estimate distribution All housing units..... 113,258 239 100 Occupied......................... 100,472 246 89 Owner.......................... 65,453 240 58 Renter......................... 35,019 198 31 Vacant........................... 12,786 128 11 Year-round..................... 9,656 113 9 For rent...................... 3,026 64 3 For sale only................. 1,066 38 1 Other......................... 5,564 87 5 Seasonal....................... 3,130 65 3 During the first quarter 1996, the homeownership rate was 65.1 percent (+/-0.3). The homeownership rate was higher than a year ago, but not significantly different from the rate last quarter. Table 4. HOMEOWNERSHIP RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES: 1980 to 1996 (in percent) Homeownership Rates1 Year First Second Third Fourth quarter quarter quarter quarter . 1996................. 65.1 1995................. 64.2 64.7 65.0 65.1 1994................. 63.8 63.8 64.1 64.2 1993r................ 63.7 63.9 64.2 64.2 1993................. 64.2 64.4 64.7 64.6 1992................. 64.0 63.9 64.3 64.4 1991................. 63.9 63.9 64.2 64.2 1990................. 64.0 63.7 64.0 64.1 1989r................ 63.9 63.8 64.1 63.8 1989................. 63.9 63.9 64.0 63.8 1988................. 63.7 63.7 64.0 63.8 1987................. 63.8 63.8 64.2 64.1 1986................. 63.6 63.8 63.8 63.9 1985................. 64.1 64.1 63.9 63.5 1984................. 64.6 64.6 64.6 64.1 1983................. 64.7 64.7 64.8 64.4 1982................. 64.8 64.9 64.9 64.5 1981................. 65.6 65.3 65.6 65.2 1980................. 65.5 65.5 65.8 65.5 1Standard errors for quarterly homeownership rates for the United States generally are 0.2 percent. rRevised. Note: This press release along with more detailed data is available on the Internet. Our Internet address is http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/. The data in this release are the result of a sample survey and are, therefore, subject to sampling variability. For example, the standard error on the estimated rental vacancy rate of 7.9 is 0.2 percentage points. Consequently, the 90 percent confidence interval as shown by these data is from 7.6 to 8.2; i.e., the interval 7.9 +/- (1.6 x 0.2) percentage points. Thus, one can say with about 90 percent confidence that the average estimate derived from all possible samples is included in this confidence interval. The 90 percent confidence intervals are shown in the text above for selected items. The standard errors for other figures in this release are given in the tables. Hypothesis testing may be performed at various levels of significance, where a level of significance is the probability of concluding that the parameters are different when, in fact, they are identical. All statements of comparison in the text have passed a hypothesis test at the 0.10 level of significance. This means that, for differences cited in the text, the estimated difference between characteristics is greater than 1.6 times the standard error of the difference. In addition to sampling error, the figures in this release, both the estimates and their standard errors, are also subject to nonsampling error.