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count of dilapidated units. However, with the large number of enumerators involved, it is likely that such deviations tend to be offsetting.

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Number of rooms.--All rooms which are to be used, or are suitable for use, as living quarters were counted in determining the number of rooms in the housing unit. Included are kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, and permanently enclosed sunporches of substantial size; and finished basement or attic rooms, recreation rooms, suitable for use as living quarters. kitchenette or half-room which is partitioned off from floor to ceiling was counted as a separate room, but a combined kitchenette and dinette separated only by shelves or cabinets was counted as only one room. Not counted as rooms were bathrooms, strip or pullman kitchens, halls or foyers, alcoves, pantries, laundries, closets or storage space, and unfinished basement or attic rooms not suitable for living quarters.

The median number of rooms is the theoretical value which divides the housing units equally, one-half having more rooms and one-half having fewer rooms than the median. In the computation of the median, a continuous distribution was assumed. For example, when the median was in the 3-room group, the lower and upper limits were assumed to be 2.5 and 3.5, respectively. Tenths were used in the computation of the median to permit comparisons.

Number of bedrooms.--Only rooms intended primarily to be slept in were counted as bedrooms. A bed-living room or a den intended primarily for purposes other than sleeping was not counted as a bedroom. A 1-room apartment, therefore, was reported as having no bedroom. Also, space which could be made into bedrooms (the upper floor of a 1 1/2-story house, for example) was not counted as a bedroom unless it was finished off and suitable for use as living quarters.

Number of housing units in structure.-- A structure either stands by itself or has vertical walls dividing it from all other structures. The count of housing units in a structure is the total number of units in the structure, including both occupied and vacant units. A structure may be detached, attached, or semidetached. A detached structure has open space on all four sides; and attached structure is one of a row of three or more adjoining structures, or is a structure attached to a nonresidential structure; while a semidetached structure is one of two adjoining residential structures, each with open space on the remaining three sides. In apartment developments, each building with open space on all sides is considered a separate structure.

The statistics reflect the number of vacant housing units classified by the number of housing units in the structure in which they are located, rather than the number of residential structures that contain vacant units.

In the quarterly surveys, data were obtained on the number of housing units in the structure, regardless of the type of structure (detached, attached, or semidetached) in which the unit was located.

Year structure built.--“Year built” refers to the date the original construction of the structure was completed, and not to any later remodeling, addition, or conversion. The figures on the number of units built during a given period relate to the number of units in existence at the time of enumeration. The figures reflect the number of units constructed during a given period plus the number created by conversions in structures originally built during that period, minus the number lost in structures built during the period. Losses occur through demolition, fire, flood, disaster; change to nonresidential use; or merger to fewer housing units.

Data on year built are more susceptible to errors of response and nonreporting than data on many of the other items. In most cases, the information was given according to memory or estimates of the occupants of the structure or of other persons who had lived in the neighborhood a long time.

Duration of vacancy.--The length of time a housing unit was vacant was computed from the day the unit became vacant until the day of enumeration. It should be noted that the time period is not the total time a unit remains unoccupied nor the time a unit has been in a particular vacancy status, but it is the duration of vacancy up to the day of enumeration. For newly constructed units, it represents the time period since the date when the unit was considered a vacancy, that is, when construction had reached the point that all exterior windows and doors were installed and final usable floors were in place.

The time intervals used in the tables represent full months, calculated from a data in the month to the same date the following months. For example, if the unit became vacant on January 29 and was still vacant on the day of enumeration, March 20, the time reported would be "1 up to 2 months," meaning that the unit had been vacant for more than one month but less than two months. Or if the unit became vacant on February 25 and was still vacant on March 20, the time reported would be "less than 1 month."

Plumbing facilities. --Housing units "with all facilities" consist of those which have: Both a flush toilet and a bathtub or shower inside the structure for the exclusive use of the intended occupants, and hot running water.

Units "lacking facilities" consist of those which lack one or more of the plumbing facilities or which lack exclusive use of these facilities. For example, included as "lacking facilities" would be a downstairs apartment with hot running water but whose occupants would share the bathroom with the occupants of the upstairs apartment.

Facilities were considered "inside the structure" if they were located within the housing unit or elsewhere in the structure. Facilities are for exclusive use if only the intended occupants of this one housing unit would use them.

A housing unit was considered as having hot running water whether it was available the year round or only part of the time. For example, hot running water may be available only during the heating season or at various times during the week.

Monthly rent.--The monthly rent is the amount asked for the unit at the time of enumeration, regardless of whether it is to include furniture, heating fuel, electricity, cooking fuel, water, or other services. If the amount of rent were to vary during the year, the rent reported was the monthly amount asked at the time of enumeration. As in the 1960 Census, the statistics in this report are for all vacant rental units in urban areas and those in rural areas which are located on places of less than 10 acres; thus rural vacancies on places of 10 acres or more are excluded. The statistics in the reports for 1960 or earlier exclude rental vacancies in rural areas which were classified as farm by the 1950 definition (the classification depending on the reply to the question "Is this house on a farm or ranch?”). Data for such units are excluded because of the difficulty of separating the rental for the housing unit from the rental for the land.

The median monthly rent is the rent which divides the series into two equal parts, one-half of the units with rents higher than the median and the other half with rents lower than the median. In the computation of the median, a continuous distribution was assumed; and the limits of the class intervals were assumed to stand at the midpoints of the 1-dollar interval between the end of one of the rent groups and the beginning of the next. For example, the limits of the interval designated $30 to $39 were assumed to be $29.50 and $39.50.

Inclusion of utilities in rent. -- The utilities included in the inquiry were heat, light, cooking fuel, and water. The statistics reflect whether all or not all of these utilities are provided for in the amount of rent asked at the time of enumeration, not what could be provided for more or less rent. Data on the inclusion of utilities are limited to the same units as those for which rent is reported.

Sale price of 1-housing unit structures. --The sale price is the amount asked for the property, including the structure and its land. Statistics on sale price for this report are limited to units in 1-housing unit structures, without business, and with only one housing unit included in the property. As in the 1960 Census, the statistics

in this report are for all vacant homeowner units in urban areas and those in rural areas which are located on places of less than 10 acres; thus rural vacancies on places of 10 acres or more are excluded. The statistics in the reports for 1960 or earlier exclude homeowner vacancies in rural areas which were classified as farm by the 1950 definition (the classification depending on the reply to the question "Is this house on a farm or ranch?"). Data for such units are excluded because they would reflect varying amounts for land, business uses, or for more than one housing unit on the property.

The median sale price. is the amount which divides the series into two equal parts, one-half of the units with prices higher than the median and the other half with prices lower than the median. The median was computed on the basis of more detailed tabulation groups than are shown in the tables and was rounded to the nearest hundred dollars.

Urban-rural residence. --The territory classified as urban is the same as that in the 1960 Census. Urban housing comprises all units in (a) places of 2,500 inhabitants or more incorporated as cities, boroughs, villages, and towns (except towns in New England, New York, and Wisconsin); (b) the densely settled urban fringe, whether incorporated or unincorporated, of urbanized areas; (c) towns in New England and townships in New Jersey and Pennsylvania which contain no incorporated municipalities as subdivisions and have either 25,000 inhabitants or more or a population of 2,500 to 25,000 and a density of 1,500 persons or more per square mile; (d) counties in States other than the New England States, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania that have have no incorporated municipalities within their boundaries and have a density of 1,500 persons or more per square mile; and (e) unincorporated places of 2,500 inhabitants or more. The remaining units are classified as rural.

SOURCE AND RELIABILITY OF DATA

Source of data. -- The estimates presented in this report are based on data obtained in connection with the monthly population sample survey of the Bureau of the Census.

The statistics for the first quarter 1968 are averages for the three months, January, February, and March. Beginning with the second quarter 1960, separate living quarters were enumerated according to the 1960 Census housing unint definition. For the preceding periods, living quarters were enumerated according to the 1950 definition of dwelling unit. The result of the change in definition is believed to be too small to affect the vacancy rates.

The sample is comprised of 863 counties and independent cities with coverage in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Representation from Alaska and Hawaii was included in the sample, beginning January 1960.

A total of approximately 60,000 housing units and other living quarters was designated for each month's sample. Of this total, about 52,500 were occupied housing units; about 5,000 were vacant housing units; and the remainder were units which, at the time of enumeration, had been demolished, or for other reasons were not living quarters within the scope of the survey. Detailed information was obtained for each vacant unit in the sample, beginning with the second quarter 1955.

Reliability of the estimates.--Since the quarterly statistics presented in this report are based on a sample, they are subject to sampling variability and may be expected to differ from results that would have been obtained from a complete count in which identical enumeration techniques were employed. The standard error is a measure of

sampling variability. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that the difference due to sampling variability between an estimate and the figure that would have been obtained from a complete enumeration is less than the standard error. The chances are about 95 out of 100 that the difference is less than twice the standard error and about 99 out of 100 that it is less than 2 1/2 times the standard error.

The standard errors of a few of the more important statistics are shown in table L. To illustrate: The rental vacancy rate for the United States for the quarter is estimated as 5.5 percent. As shown in table A, the standard error of this estimate is about 0.2 percent. The chances are, therefore, about 68 out of 100 that a complete enumeration would have yielded an estimate between 5.3 and 5.7 percent.

The annual average rates are subject to a smaller sampling variability than the quarterly rates. The variability for the annual average rate can be approximated by taking one-half of the standard error of the rate in table A.

Comparison of characteristics of vacancies for the first quarter 1968 with those for previous quarters (Series H-111, Nos. 1 to 51) reveals that many of the differences are small. A small difference, particularly when it is based on a small subclass of vacant housing units, should be interpreted with care. As can be seen from table A, the sampling variability in such cases may be large relative to the difference.

In addition to sampling variability, the data are subject to errors of response and biases due to nonreporting. Factors affecting accuracy of reporting are the respondent's knowledge of the facts and the enumerator's ability to obtain accurate information and classify the unit with respect to such items as condition, seasonal status, number of rooms, rent, sale price, and the like.

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The vacancy rates in rental and in homeowner housing in the second quarter 1968 showed no change from the levels reported in the first quarter of the year. The vacancy rate in rental housing was 5.7 percent, which is not statistically different from the 5.6 percent and 5.5 percent reported for the two previous quarters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0 percent, which is the same as the rate for the first quarter 1968.

For this period of the year, the level of rental vacancies is the lowest reported during the 60's. The 1968 rates for homeowner vacancies are the lowest reported since the first quarter 1960. These results are based on information obtained in sample surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Within standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSA's) the rental vacancy rate was 4.9 percent in the second quarter 1968. Outside SMSA's the rate was higher, 7.5 percent. In central cities of metropolitan areas, the rental vacancy rate was slightly higher than the rate in areas outside central cities--5.3 percent as compared to 4.3 percent.

In homeowner housing, the vacancy rate within SMSA's was at approximately the same level as the rate for nonmetropolitan areas. In central cities of SMSA's, however, the rate of homeowner vacancies (1.1 percent) was slightly higher than in areas outside central cities (0.8 percent).

Among the regions, vacancy rates in rental and in homeowner housing were highest in the

Table 1.-RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES: 1960 TO 1968

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. BY THE 20402, 20 cents. Annual subscription (Series H-111 and H-121, combined), $1.00;

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