US Housing Vacancies and Homeownership

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The rental vacancy rate held at 7.1% in Q3 2025 (vs 7.0% in Q2 and 6.9% in Q3 2024), while the homeowner vacancy rate increased to 1.2% (from 1.1% in Q2 and 1.0% a year earlier), reflecting slightly higher availability in the owner market as the homeownership rate was little changed at 65.3%.
- Rental vacancy rates showed little variation across geographies in Q3, with principal cities at 7.3%, suburbs at 6.9%, and areas outside MSAs at 6.6%, none statistically different from each other or from Q3 2024.
- Homeowner vacancy rates were 1.4% in principal cities and outside MSAs and 1.1% in suburbs, with suburban and non MSA rates higher than in Q3 2024, indicating modest softening in those areas.
- Regionally, rental vacancies were highest in the South at 9.1% and lowest in the Northeast at 5.0%; only the South posted a statistically significant increase relative to Q3 2024.
- The homeowner vacancy rate was highest in the South at 1.4% and lowest in the Midwest at 0.9%; the West’s 1.2% rate was higher than a year earlier, while other regions showed no statistically significant yearly changes.
- Occupied units accounted for 89.7% of total housing stock, with renter occupied units at 31.1% and owner occupied units at 58.6%; 10.3% of units were vacant, including 2.4% for rent and 0.7% for sale only.
- Homeownership was highest in the Midwest at 68.9% and lowest in the West at 60.7%; only the Midwest saw a YoY decline compared with Q3 2024.
- By age, homeownership ranged from 37.5% among households under 35 to 77.9% among those 65 and older, with yearly declines observed in the 35 to 44 group and the 65 plus category.
- Households with income above the median had a homeownership rate of 78.9% (not statistically different YoY), while those below the median saw a decline to 51.8% from 52.7% a year earlier.
The rental vacancy rate rose 0.4 ppts YoY to 7.0% in Q2 2025, the highest since 2020, while the homeowner vacancy rate increased 0.2 ppts to 1.1%, matching Q1’s rate.
- Homeownership edged down to 65.0% in Q2 2025 from 65.6% in Q1, its lowest since Q4 2019.
- Vacancy rates rose across all regions YoY, with the South seeing the largest jump in rental vacancies (+0.9 ppts to 6.3%) and the Midwest leading homeowner vacancy increases (+0.4 ppts to 1.5%).
- Rental vacancies were highest in principal cities (7.6%) and lowest in the West (5.7%) in Q2.
- Homeowner vacancies remained lowest in the Northeast (0.8%) and highest in the Midwest (1.5%) in Q2.
- The national homeownership rate has declined for two straight quarters and is down -0.6 ppts YoY from 65.6% in Q2 2024.
The rental vacancy rate increased 0.2 ppts to 7.1%, and the homeowner vacancy rate was unchanged at 1.1% in Q1 2025.
- The total number of housing units in the US is estimated at 147.81 million as of Q1 2025, up from 146.25 million a year ago.
- The Census Bureau estimates that 89.5% of those units are occupied and 10.5% are vacant.
- The homeownership rate fell to 65.1% in Q1 2025, down from an estimated 65.7% in Q4 2024 and the lowest since Q4 2019.