Rental vacancy rate in US rises to 6.6% in Q3

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The rental vacancy rate in the US rose to 6.6% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

The figure is an uptick from 6.3% recorded in the second quarter, and an increase from 6% in the third quarter of last year.

The homeowner vacancy rate came in at 0.8% for the July-September period, falling slightly from 0.9% in the third quarter of 2022, but rising from 0.7% in the second quarter of this year.

The homeownership rate was 66% in the third quarter, same as the same period of 2022, and slightly higher from 65.9% recorded in the April-June period this year.

"In the third quarter 2023, the median asking rent for vacant for rent units was $1,462," the Commerce Department said in a statement, adding the median asking sales price for vacant units was $314,200 during that period.

"Approximately 89.6 percent of the housing units in the United States in the third quarter 2023 were occupied and 10.4 percent were vacant. Owner-occupied housing units made up 59.1 percent of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 30.5 percent of the inventory in the third quarter 2023," it added.