National Vacancy Rates Higher Versus This Time Last Quarter and Last Year

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following residential vacancies and homeownership statistics for the first quarter 2023:

National vacancy rates in the first quarter 2023 were 6.4% for rental housing and 0.8% for homeowner housing.
The rental vacancy rate was higher than the rate in the first quarter 2022 (5.8%) and higher than the rate in the fourth quarter 2022 (5.8%).
The homeowner vacancy rate of 0.8% was virtually the same as the rate in the first quarter 2022 (0.8%) and virtually the same as the rate in the fourth quarter 2022 (0.8%).
The homeownership rate of 66.0% was not statistically different from the rate in the first quarter 2022 (65.4%) and not statistically different from the rate in the fourth quarter 2022 (65.9%).
In the first quarter 2023, the median asking rent for vacant for rent units was $1,462.
In the first quarter 2023, the median asking sales price for vacant for sale units was $319,000.

Approximately 89.6% of the housing units in the United States in the first quarter 2023 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 in the first quarter 2023.
Vacant year-round units comprised 7.9% of total housing units, while 2.5% were vacant for seasonal use.
Approximately 2.1% of the total units were vacant for rent, 0.5% were vacant for sale only and 0.6% were rented or sold but not yet occupied.
Vacant units that were held off market comprised 4.8% of the total housing stock – 1.5% were for occasional use, 0.8% were temporarily occupied by persons with usual residence elsewhere (URE) and 2.5% were vacant for a variety of other reasons.