Vacant units not on the market

The rental and homeowner vacancy rates describe the market conditions for available vacant housing. To analyze the total vacancy situation, vacant units not on the market must be considered. Vacant units not on the available market comprise units that have already been rented or sold, units held by the owner, dilapidated units, and vacant units intended only for seasonal occupancy.

Of all housing units in the United States in the first quarter 1968, approximately 0.6 percent were vacant units which had been rented or sold but not yet occupied (and were for year-round use and not dilapidated).

Units held off the rental or sale market (also for year-round use and not dilapidated) amounted to 3.0 percent. The rate was highest in the South, 3.7 percent, and lowest in the Northeast, where it was 1.9 percent. The percentages were 3.0 for the North Central Region, and 3.3 for the West. The proportion for units held off the market was substantially lower in metropolitan areas than in the nonmetropolitan areas.

The "held off market" group includes units temporarily not on the market for personal reasons of the owner, units not offered for rent or sale because they are located in places where there is little demand for them and units reserved for the owner's occasional use as a second home. It is possible that some units actually reserved for the owner's occasional use as a second home may have been classified as units temporarily occupied by persons with a usual residence elsewhere. Also, some "second homes" may have been included with the seasonal group because of the difficulty of distinguishing between the two categories.

Of the total vacant units in the "held off market" category, about half were held for personal reasons, one-fourth were temporarily occupied by persons who lived elsewhere, and one-fourth were reserved for use as second homes.

Beginning the first quarter 1968, characteristics of the units "held off market” were tabulated. Two-thirds of the units "held off market" were single family houses and about the same proportion had been vacant six months or longer.

The average (median) size in terms of rooms was 4.1. Three-fifths of the units had been built before 1940.

Almost nine-tenths (88 percent) of the units reserved for use as second homes were singlefamily houses and about seven-tenths (67 percent) had been vacant at least six months. The median number of rooms was 3.7. Half of the units in this group had been built before 1940.

Year-round vacancies which were dilapidated constituted 0.7 percent of the total housing. These vacancies were found largely outside SMSA's. Because of their structural condition, dilapidated vacancies are not considered part of the supply that is on the market. Vacancies in the dilapidated group are among the units most likely to drop out of the housing inventory. Vacant units which are intended for occupancy as living quarters are included in the inventory even though they are dilapidated; however, vacant units which are unfit for human habitation or deteriorated to the extent that they are no longer considered living quarters are not included in the statistics for this report.

Seasonal units which were vacant accounted for 2.8 percent of the total housing inventory. Vacation homes for summer or winter recreational use comprised approximately nine-tenths of the total seasonal units. The remaining one-tenth consisted of cabins and houses reserved for loggers, herders, or migratory farm laborers who would occupy the quarters during the work season. Practically all (99.6 percent) of these units were in sound or deteriorating condition.

Available vacant units

The percentage of all housing units that are vacant and available for rent and the percentage available for sale in tables 9 and 10 do not show any smaller vacancy supply than that indicated by the rental and homeowner vacancy rates in tables 1 and 2; they merely reflect different bases, as shown in table 3. The rental vacancy rate, 5.5 percent, expresses the relationship between vacant housing that is offered for rent and the total rental supply. Similarly, the homeowner vacancy rate, 1.0 percent, expresses the relationship between vacant housing offered for sale and the total homeowner supply. The available-for-rent rate of 1.9 percent and the available-for-sale rate, 0.6 percent, are based on total housing units, which comprise rental units, homeowner units, and all vacant units.