The U.S. Census Bureau tracks quarterly vacancy and home ownership rates.
They have data going back to 2005 for each quarter.
Here is a table with the data for the 75 largest metro areas during the third quarter of 2011:
Metro Area | % vacant |
Akron, OH | 8.3 |
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY . | 4.5 |
Alburquerque, NM. | 4.3 |
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 5.8 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 9.4 |
Austin-Round Rock, TX | 6.1 |
Bakersfield, CA | 3.7 |
Baltimore-Towson, MD | 12.1 |
Baton Rouge, LA | 7.9 |
Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 8.7 |
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | 7.1 |
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT. | 7.1 |
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda, NY | 10.9 |
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC | 14.6 |
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL | 10.2 |
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | 11.2 |
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH/4 | 11.4 |
Columbia, SC | 6.9 |
Columbus, OH | 8.6 |
Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX | 11.9 |
Dayton, OH. | 12.8 |
Denver-Aurora, CO | 8.5 |
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | 14.9 |
El Paso, TX | 3.3 |
Fresno, CA | 7.6 |
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 5.9 |
Greensboro-High Point, NC | 16.3 |
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 8.6 |
Honolulu, HI | 6.1 |
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX | 17.1 |
Indianapolis, IN. | 14.5 |
Jacksonville, FL | 12.1 |
Kansas City, MO-KS. | 15.2 |
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | 13.2 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 5.0 |
Louisville, KY-IN | 12.6 |
Memphis, TN-AR-MS. | 14.8 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL | 13.6 |
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 9.8 |
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 8.0 |
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN | 12.2 |
New Haven-Milford, CT | 13.3 |
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 12.3 |
New York-Northern New Jersey--Long Island, NY | 7.2 |
Oklahoma City, OK. | 9.7 |
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 7.9 |
Orlando, FL | 16.6 |
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 3.0 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA . | 13.7 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 10.4 |
Pittsburgh, PA. | 7.4 |
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA | 3.1 |
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NJ. | 17.0 |
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River RI-MA | 8.8 |
Raleigh-Cary, NC | 6.5 |
Richmond, VA | 11.9 |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 9.7 |
Rochester, NY. | 8.4 |
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA | 7.6 |
St. Louis, MO-IL | 10.5 |
Salt Lake City, UT | 8.5 |
San Antonio, TX | 6.5 |
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos | 8.5 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 8.5 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 4.6 |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 6.8 |
Springfield, MA. | 2.6 |
Syracuse, NY | 8.7 |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 13.6 |
Toledo, OH | 14.8 |
Tucson, AZ | 17.0 |
Tulsa, OK | 13.3 |
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA | 9.7 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 8.3 |
Worcester, MA. | 2.8 |
As you can see there is a pretty wide range in the vacancy rates. The median for the cities given is 8.7%. The high in the list is 17.1% in the Houston area and the low is 2.6% in Springfield, Mass.
This is current as of the third quarter of 2011. The vacancy rate for a metro area will go up and down from quarter to quarter.
Lets take a look at a single city over time. Below is the quarterly vacancy rate for Akron, Ohio going back to 2005.
The vacancy rate in Akron swings up and down a few percent points most quarters. It seems like there is something of an annual seasonal cycle with a peak in vacancy rates in the first quarter of the year.
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