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Vacancy Rates Show Modest Decline08-13-15 | News

Vacancy Rates Show Modest Decline
Homeownership Rate Drops As Well

Second quarter results show the vacancy rates for both rentals and single-family homes are dropping, which means people in need of housing have fewer choices.

Vacancy rates for rentals and single-family homes have each declined slightly, according to second quarter data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Both of those rates have dropped in comparison to the first quarter of this year, and also the second quarter of 2014. The vacancy rate for rentals in the second quarter of 2015 is 6.8 percent. This is 0.7 percentage points lower than the second quarter of 2014, and 0.3 percentage points less than the first quarter of this year.

The 6.8 percent rental vacancy rate is the lowest of any three-month period since at least the first quarter of 2005. It stood at 7.1 percent in the first quarter of this year. Rates in 2014: 8.3 percent in the first quarter; 7.5 percent in the second; 7.4 percent in the third; and 7.0 percent in the fourth.

For single-family homes, the vacancy rate is 1.8 percent, or 0.1 percentage points lower than the second quarter of last year, and 0.4 percentage points less than the first quarter of 2015. This quarter and three other comparable time periods are tied for the lowest vacancy rates since 2005.

It was at 1.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. Rates in 2014: 2.0 percent in the first quarter, 1.9 percent in the second, 1.8 percent in the third, and 1.9 percent in the fourth.

At the same time, the homeownership rate is 63.4 percent. This compares to 64.7 percent in the second quarter of 2014, and 63.7 percent in the first quarter of this year.