Robert R. Callis               For Release 10:00 AM EDT, February 1, 1995
Alan Friedman                                   CB96-06
(301) 763-8165

                         CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS ON 
                  RESIDENTIAL VACANCIES AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
 
     National vacancy rates in the fourth quarter 1995 were 7.7 percent 
(+/-0.3) in rental housing and 1.6 percent (+/-0.1) in homeowner housing, the
Department of Commerce's Census Bureau announced today.  The Bureau said
that neither the rental vacancy rate nor the homeowner vacancy rate was
significantly different from the rate last quarter or the rate in the
fourth quarter of 1994.  

 
Table 1.  RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES:         
          1980 to 1995

               Rental vacancy rates              Homeowner vacancy rates
          First   Second    Third   Fourth    First   Second   Third  Fourth
 Year   quarter  quarter  quarter  quarter  quarter  quarter quarter quarter

                                      .                                 .  
1995...   7.4      7.7      7.7      7.7      1.5      1.6     1.5     1.6
1994...   7.5      7.4      7.2      7.4      1.4      1.4     1.4     1.6
1993r..   7.8      7.6      7.0      6.9      1.4      1.4     1.4     1.4
       
1993...   7.9      7.6      7.1      6.9      1.4      1.4     1.4     1.4
1992...   7.4      7.7      7.3      7.1      1.5      1.6     1.6     1.5
1991...   7.5      7.3      7.6      7.3      1.7      1.8     1.8     1.6  
1990...   7.5      7.0      7.2      7.2      1.7      1.7     1.7     1.7
1989r..   7.5      7.4      7.6      7.1      1.7      1.7     1.9     1.8
       
1989...   7.3      7.3      7.3      6.8      1.5      1.6     1.8     1.6
1988...   8.0      7.7      7.8      7.3      1.6      1.6     1.6     1.6
1987...   7.4      7.5      8.1      7.8      1.7      1.7     1.7     1.6
1986...   6.9      7.3      7.5      7.7      1.5      1.7     1.6     1.6
1985...   6.3      6.2      6.8      6.7      1.8      1.9     1.8     1.6
1984...   5.6      5.5      6.0      6.3      1.6      1.7     1.7     1.7
1983...   5.7      5.5      5.8      5.5      1.4      1.5     1.6     1.6
1982...   5.3      5.1      5.3      5.5      1.4      1.6     1.5     1.6
1981...   5.2      5.0      5.0      5.0      1.3      1.3     1.5     1.4
1980...   5.2      5.6      5.7      5.0      1.3      1.4     1.4     1.4

rRevised.                               

             Note:  Release of these data, scheduled for January 23,   
                    was delayed due to the government shutdown.        


     For rental housing, the vacancy rate was lowest in the suburbs (6.9
percent).  The rental vacancy rate in central cities was about the same as
the rate outside Metropolitan Areas (MAs).

     For homeowner housing, the vacancy rate was highest in central cities
(2.1 percent) and lowest in the suburbs (1.3 percent).

     Among regions, the rental vacancy rate was highest in the South (8.5
percent), while rates in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were not
significantly different from each other.  The rental vacancy rate in the
Midwest was higher than the fourth quarter 1994 rate, while rates in the
Northeast, South, and West did not differ significantly from one year ago. 

     For homeowner housing, the vacancy rate in the Midwest was lower than
in the South and West, but not significantly different from the Northeast. 
The homeowner vacancy rate in the South was lower than a year ago, while no
other region showed any significant change from a year ago.


     Table 2.  RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER VACANCY RATES BY REGION:
               FOURTH QUARTER 1995 AND 1994


                        Rental vacancy rates         Homeowner vacancy rates   

  Area                 4th   4th Std err Standard   4th   4th Std err Standard 
                       Qtr   Qtr on 1995 error on   Qtr   Qtr on 1995 error on 
                      1995  1994    rate  differ-  1995  1994   rate   differ-  
                                             ence                         ence 

United States.......  7.7   7.4    0.2      0.2    1.6   1.6    0.1      0.1   
                                
  Inside MAs........  7.7    NA    0.2       NA    1.5    NA    0.1       NA   
   In central cities  8.4    NA    0.3       NA    2.1    NA    0.1       NA   
   Not in central               
   cities (suburbs).  6.9    NA    0.3       NA    1.3    NA    0.1       NA   
   Outside MAs......  8.0    NA    0.5       NA    1.7    NA    0.1       NA   
                    
  Northeast.........  6.9   7.1    0.4      0.5    1.5   1.6    0.1      0.2   
  Midwest...........  7.6   6.8    0.4      0.5    1.3   1.2    0.1      0.1   
  South.............  8.5   8.3    0.3      0.4    1.7   1.9    0.1      0.1   
  West.............   7.5   6.8    0.3      0.5    1.8   1.6    0.1      0.2   

rRevised.
NA Not available.


     There were an estimated 113.0 million housing units in the United
States in the fourth quarter 1995.  Approximately 100.4 million were
occupied, 65.4 million by owners and 35.0 million by renters.  Of the 12.6
million vacant housing units, 9.5 million were for year-round use, while
the remaining 3.1 million were intended for seasonal use.  Approximately
3.0 million of the year-round vacant units were for rent, 1.1 million were
for sale only, and the remaining 5.5 million were vacant for a variety of
reasons.

 Table 3.  ESTIMATES OF THE TOTAL HOUSING INVENTORY FOR THE 
           UNITED STATES:  FOURTH QUARTER 1995

                       (Numbers in thousands)

                                             Standard     
           Type                  Estimate    error on        Percent
                                             estimate   distribution
                                                                    
         All housing units.....  112,987       230           100  
                                                       
Occupied.......................  100,363       237            89
  Owner........................   65,355       230            58
  Renter.......................   35,008       190            31
                                                       
Vacant.........................   12,624       123            11
  Year-round...................    9,529       108             8
   For rent....................    2,966        61             3
   For sale only...............    1,050        37             1
   Other.......................    5,513        83             5
                                                       
  Seasonal.....................    3,095        63             3


     During the fourth quarter 1995, the homeownership rate was 65.1
percent (+/-0.3).  The homeownership rate was higher than a year ago, but not
significantly different from the rate last quarter.  

     Table 4.  HOMEOWNERSHIP RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES:  1980 to 1995

                                    Homeownership Rates1
        Year         
                         First      Second       Third      Fourth
                       quarter     quarter     quarter     quarter

                                                              .  
1995.................    64.2        64.7        65.0        65.1  
1994.................    63.8        63.8        64.1        64.2
1993r................    63.7        63.9        64.2        64.2
                                                          
1993.................    64.2        64.4        64.7        64.6
1992.................    64.0        63.9        64.3        64.4
1991.................    63.9        63.9        64.2        64.2   
1990.................    64.0        63.7        64.0        64.1
1989r................    63.9        63.8        64.1        63.8
                                                          
1989.................    63.9        63.9        64.0        63.8
1988.................    63.7        63.7        64.0        63.8
1987.................    63.8        63.8        64.2        64.1
1986.................    63.6        63.8        63.8        63.9
1985.................    64.1        64.1        63.9        63.5
1984.................    64.6        64.6        64.6        64.1
1983.................    64.7        64.7        64.8        64.4
1982.................    64.8        64.9        64.9        64.5
1981.................    65.6        65.3        65.6        65.2
1980.................    65.5        65.5        65.8        65.5

1Standard errors for quarterly homeownership rates for the United States 
 generally are 0.2 percent.
rRevised.

  Note:  This press release along with more detailed data is available on the  
  Internet.  Our Internet address is http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing.html.  


     The data in this release are the result of a sample survey and are,
therefore, subject to sampling variability.  For example, the standard
error on the estimated rental vacancy rate of 7.7 is 0.2 percentage points. 
Consequently, the 90 percent confidence interval as shown by these data is
from 7.4 to 8.0; i.e., the interval 7.7 +/- (1.6 x 0.2) percentage points. 
Thus, one can say with about 90 percent confidence that the average
estimate derived from all possible samples is included in this confidence
interval.  The 90 percent confidence intervals are shown in the text above
for selected items.  The standard errors for other figures in this release
are given in the tables.
     Hypothesis testing may be performed at various levels of significance,
where a level of significance is the probability of concluding that the
parameters are different when, in fact, they are identical.  All statements
of comparison in the text have passed a hypothesis test at the 0.10 level
of significance.  This means that, for differences cited in the text, the
estimated difference between characteristics is greater than 1.6 times the
standard error of the difference.
     In addition to sampling error, the figures in this release, both the
estimates and their standard errors, are also subject to nonsampling error.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau