INTRODUCTION

This is part II of a two-part report on housing units in the United States. Part I provided information on vacancy rates and characteristics of vacant rental and homeowner housing for the fourth quarter 1971. Part II provides annual statistics on occupied and vacant rental and homeowner housing for the year 1971 and for selected years covering the period 1960 to 1970.

In this report, annual statistics are presented on vacancy rates in the total housing inventory, the total rental inventory, the total homeowner inventory, and for subclasses of rental and homeowner units that have common characteristics. Percent distributions on housing characteristics are shown separately for occupied and vacant rental and homeowner units. Cross-tabulations of data are shown for most of the characteristics.

The statistics are based on data collected in two different sample surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census, Social and Economic Statistics Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Estimates of vacant housing units are based on data obtained in the monthly population sample survey. Estimates of occupied housing units are based on data obtained in the quarterly household sample survey of consumer buying expectations. A more complete description of the surveys is found in the section "Source and Reliability of the Estimates."

Related reports. --Statistics on vacant units and limited information on occupied housing are available for each year prior to 1971 in Series H-111 summary reports, Nos. 43, 51, 55, 59, and

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Vacancy Rates in Rental and Homeowner Housing

In 1971 national vacancy rates were 5.1 percent in rental housing and 0.9 percent in homeowner housing. The 1971 rates were about the same as those reported for 1970 and 1969.

The rental vacancy rate was 4.8 percent in metropolitan areas and 5.8 percent in nonmetropolitan areas, about the same as the rates reported

in 1970. The 1970 and 1971 rental vacancy rates in metropolitan areas were higher than the 1969 rate, reversing a decline which began in 1965. The rate in nonmetropolitan areas, which began to decline in 1967, continued to decline in 1970 and remained at that level in 1971.

Vacant units for sale in metropolitan areas were 0.9 percent in 1971, about the same level as the rates reported for 1970 and 1969, but down from the rates reported in the midsixties (1963 to 1966). The homeowner vacancy rate in nonmetropolitan areas (0.9 percent) also remained at the low levels reported in 1970 and 1969. The rates for all three years are the lowest reported during the 12 year period 1960 through 1971.

In each of the four regions, vacancy rates in both portions of the inventory were about the same as the rates reported in 1970 and 1969. In 1971, the Northeast continued to have the lowest rate of rental and homeowner vacancies. In rental housing, the South continued to have the highest rate of vacancies; in homeowner housing, the South and West continued to rank highest.

Rental vacancy rates above the overall vacancy rate were reported for units built in 1965 or later and among those renting for $100 or more a month. The rate was also relatively high in multiunit structures containing five units or more. In addition, there were high vacancy rates in units lacking plumbing facilities, in units renting for less than $60 monthly, and in units with three rooms or less.

Among homeowner units, vacancy rates higher than the overall vacancy rate existed in the newer housing (built in 1965 or later). Rates were relatively high in units with three rooms or less, in units in multiunit structures, and in units lacking plumbing facilities; these units, however, represent only a small proportion of the homeowner inventory.

Characteristics Of Homeowner Housing

The percentage of households owning their homes remained at the level reached in 1969. About 64 percent of the households in the Nation owned the home in which they lived.

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