Robert R. Callis For Release 10:00 AM EDT, October 24, 1995 Alan Friedman CB95-190 (301) 763-8165 CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS ON RESIDENTIAL VACANCIES AND HOMEOWNERSHIP National vacancy rates in the third quarter 1995 were 7.7 percent (+/-0.3) in rental housing and 1.5 percent (+/-0.1) in homeowner housing, the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau announced today. The Bureau said that the rental vacancy rate was higher than the rate a year ago, but not significantly different from the rate last quarter. The homeowner vacancy rate was not significantly different from the third quarter 1994 rate or the rate last quarter. Table 1. RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES: 1980 to 1995 Rental vacancy rates Homeowner vacancy rates First Second Third Fourth First Second Third Fourth Year quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter . . 1995... 7.4 7.7 7.7 1.5 1.6 1.5 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 lowest in the suburbs (6.6 percent). The rental vacancy rate in central cities was about the same as the rate outside Metropolitan Areas (MAs). For homeowner housing, the vacancy rate was highest in central cities (2.0 percent) and lowest in the suburbs (1.2 percent). Table 2. RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES BY REGION: THIRD QUARTER 1995 AND 1994 Rental vacancy rates Homeowner vacancy rates Area 3rd 3rd Std err Standard 3rd 3rd Std err Standard Qtr Qtr on 1995 error on Qtr Qtr on 1995 error on 1995 1994 rate differ- 1995 1994 rate differ- ence ence United States....... 7.7 7.2 0.2 0.2 1.5 1.4 0.1 0.1 Inside MAs........ 7.7 NA 0.2 NA 1.5 NA 0.1 NA In central cities 8.6 NA 0.3 NA 2.0 NA 0.1 NA Not in central cities (suburbs). 6.6 NA 0.3 NA 1.2 NA 0.1 NA Outside MAs...... 7.9 NA 0.4 NA 1.6 NA 0.1 NA Northeast......... 7.1 7.0 0.4 0.5 1.5 1.5 0.1 0.2 Midwest........... 7.4 6.5 0.4 0.5 1.2 1.0 0.1 0.1 South............. 8.2 7.8 0.3 0.4 1.6 1.6 0.1 0.1 West............. 7.9 7.2 0.3 0.5 1.6 1.7 0.1 0.2 rRevised. NA Not available. Among regions, the rental vacancy rate ranged from 7.1 percent in the Northeast to 8.2 percent in the South. The rental vacancy rate in the Midwest was higher than the third quarter 1994 rate, while rates in the Northeast, South, and West did not differ significantly from one year ago. For homeowner housing, vacancy rates in the South and West (1.6 percent) were higher than in the Midwest (1.2 percent), but not significantly different from the Northeast. The homeowner vacancy rates in each region showed no significant change from a year ago. There were an estimated 112.5 million housing units in the United States in the third quarter 1995. Approximately 99.9 million were occupied, 64.9 million by owners and 35.0 million by renters. Of the 12.7 million vacant housing units, 9.6 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, 1.0 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: THIRD QUARTER 1995 (Numbers in thousands) Standard Type Estimate error on Percent estimate distribution All housing units..... 112,530 230 100 Occupied....................... 99,874 237 89 Owner........................ 64,885 230 58 Renter....................... 34,989 190 31 Vacant......................... 12,656 123 11 Year-round vacant............ 9,557 108 8 For rent.................... 2,966 61 3 For sale only............... 987 36 1 Other....................... 5,604 83 5 Seasonal..................... 3,099 63 3 During the third quarter 1995, the homeownership rate was 65.0 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 1995 Homeownership Rates1 Year First Second Third Fourth quarter quarter quarter quarter . 1995................. 64.2 64.7 65.0 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. 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 7.7 is 0.2 percentage points. Consequently, the 90 percent confidence interval as shown by these data is from 7.4 to 8.0; i.e., the interval 7.7 + (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.