Regionally, the homeowner vacancy rates showed considerable variation. The overall trend, however, was a general upward movement during the pre-1960's, relative stability during the first 5 post-1960's, with a slight downward movement beginning 1965. The Northeast showed the greatest stability over the 12-year period. In the North Central Region, the rate rose rapidly from 1956 to 1958, showed signs of dropping in 1959 and rose again until 1963 when a downward trend recurred. In the South, the rates were relatively high and fast-growing until 1965, but moved downward from 1965 to 1967. The West also had a high percentage of homeowner vacancies. The rates increased during the long period but they rose much more slowly than in the South, not reaching the peak until 1966. Table F.--Annual Average Rental and Homeowner Vacancy Rates, for the United States, Inside and Outside Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Regions: 1956 to 1967 Area RENTAL VACANCY RATE 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 It should be kept in mind that the data on characteristics describe only the changes that have occurred in the vacant inventory; they do not necessarily reflect the changes in the total inventory. Comparable data on the characteristics of the occupied segment of the inventory are not available. The characteristics of the total inventory are affected by the addition of units through new construction, by the removal of units through demolitions, and by changes in characteristics of existing units. It is expected, therefore, that such changes might be reflected in the characteristics of the vacant inventory. To the extent, for example, that the number of units constructed in 1960 or later rises with each year after 1960, the distribution of vacant units by year built may show an increase in the level of such units. Similarly, any changes in size, type of structure, or rents and property values occurring in the occupied portion of the inventory probably have some impact on the composition of the vacant inventory. Vacant rental units.-- Despite the changes in the vacancy rate in rental units from 1956 to 1967, the statistics on characteristics show only modest changes in the composition of the available rental stock. Practically all these changes occurred during the first 10 years. During the 10-year period 1956 to 1965, the proportion of units located in the larger apartment buildings (structures with 10 housing units or more) increased from 12 percent to 26 percent. The percentage of units with two bedrooms rose from 30 to 35 and the figures on plumbing facilities show improvement in the quality of the In 1965, approximately 79 percent of the rental vacancies had a private flush toilet and Table G.--Vacant Rental Units by Selected Characteristics, for the United States and Inside and Outside Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 1956, 1960, and 1965 to 1967 bath and hot running water as compared to 69 percent in 1960. There was also an upward shift in the monthly rent asked. Between 1956 and 1965, the percentage of rental vacancies offered at $100 or more increased from 5 to 23. As indicated in table G, the changes in characteristics of rental vacancies occurred largely in metropolitan areas. In 1966 and 1967, the characteristics of available rental vacancies remained the same as those reported for the 1965 supply. There is some evidence that rental vacancies located outside SMSA's remained vacant for a longer period of time than in years previous to 1966. In 1956, 28 percent of the rental vacancies located outside SMSA's had been vacant less than 1 month. An additional 42 percent had been on the market 4 months or longer. In 1967, the percentage was 24 percent for short-term vacancies (of less than 1 month duration) and 51 percent for long-term vacancies (units vacant 4 months or longer). While long-term vacancies are predominantly old housing (built before 1940), units built in 1960 or later also remained vacant longer in 1967 than in earlier years. As indicated in table 8, approximately 35 percent of the recently built vacancies located in nonmetropolitan areas in 1965 had been vacant 4 months or longer. In 1967, approximately half (49 percent) of the units built in the 1960's had been vacant at least 4 months. Vacant homeowner units.--There were relatively few changes in the characteristics of for-sale vacancies during the period 1956 to 1967. The median number of rooms was 5.3 in 1967 which is about the same as the 5.4 in 1960 and the 5.2 in 1956. There has been a decline since 1960 in the percentage for 3-bedroom units. There is also some evidence of an increase in for-sale vacancies in multiunit structures since 1960. This increase was more pronounced in metropolitan areas than in the remainder of the country. With respect to plumbing facilities, the percentage of vacant homeowner units with private flush toilet, private bath, and hot running water remained about the same. The percentage was 91 in 1967, 90 in 1965, and 88 in 1960. Turnover among vacant units offered for sale was slower in 1967 than in 1960 and in 1956. In 1967, approximately 64 percent of the for-sale vacancies had been vacant 4 months or longer as compared to 49 percent in 1960 and 46 percent in 1956. The median sale price asked for vacant units for sale in 1967 was $14,000, which is significantly higher than the $11,100 in 1956. The median sale price asked for vacancies located inside SMSA's showed increases over the entire 12-year period. For vacant units located outside SMSA's, the median sale price increased between 1956 and 1960 and remained at the higher level through 1967. As indicated in table 13, the increase in the sale prices asked for vacant units is closely associated with the increase in the supply of “new” units (built 1960 or later). In 1963, about 60 percent of the units priced at $20,000 or more were In 1966, 71 percent of the $20,000 or more units were new. In 1967, 66 percent of the units offered at this price were new. As shown in table 12, a large proportion (55 to 60 percent) of the $20,000 or more units had not been previously occupied. new. VACANT UNITS NOT FOR RENT OR FOR SALE Vacant rental and homeowner units which represent vacancies on the market make up, on the average, about one-third of the total vacant inventory. The remaining vacant units, which account for approximately two-thirds of the vacant stock, comprise vacancies not on the market. This latter group is made up of vacant units that have been rented or sold but are awaiting occupancy, units held off market for the owner's use or for some other reason, units that were dilapidated but considered habitable, and units reserved for seasonal occupancy. Vacant "rented or sold" units constitute the smallest component of units not on the market. Throughout the period 1956 to 1967, this class of units remained at the same level, accounting for approximately 0.4 to 0.5 percent of all housing units in the United States. The proportion of such units did not differ between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas nor from one region to another. Of the total vacant units in the category "held off market,” approximately three-fourths were held for other reasons, most of which were reported as "personal," and one-fourth were held for occasional use by the owner. Between 1956 and 1965, vacant "held off market" units increased from 2.0 percent of the total housing inventory to 2.9 percent and remained at this level through 1967. The proportion of vacancies "held off market" in nonmetropolitan areas was about twice the proportion in metropolitan areas. While this type vacancy increased inside SMSA's and outside SMSA's, the difference in level remained fairly constant from 1956 to 1965. In 1966 and 1967, |