Rental vacancy rate rose to 7.6% in the third quarter, the highest since early 2014, Census data show

More of the country's rental homes are standing empty. The rental vacancy rate rose to 7.6% in the third quarter of 2026, from 7.1% a year earlier and 7.3% in the second quarter, the Census Bureau said on October 28 in its quarterly report on residential vacancies and homeownership. The rate measures the share of the rental inventory that is vacant and for rent. The bureau estimated that about 3.9 million homes were vacant and for rent, some 317,000 more than a year earlier.

It was the highest rate since the first quarter of 2014, when it stood at 8.3%, according to the bureau's historical table of rental vacancy rates, although the release itself does not make that comparison. The rate had been between 6.6% and 7.3% in every quarter of 2024, 2025 and the first half of 2026.

The homeownership rate, the share of households that own their home, was 65.5%. The bureau said that was not statistically different from 65.3% a year earlier or 65.0% in the second quarter. The homeowner vacancy rate, the share of the homeowner inventory that is vacant and for sale, was 1.2%, virtually the same as in both earlier periods.

Where empty rentals are most common

The South had the highest rental vacancy rate of the four regions, 9.2%. The rates rose from a year earlier in the Northeast and the West, the bureau said, while the changes in the Midwest and the South were not statistically significant. Inside metropolitan areas, the rate was higher in principal cities, 8.8%, than in suburbs, 6.5%. Outside metropolitan areas it was 6.4%.

What landlords and sellers are asking

The median asking rent for vacant units for rent was $1,541 in the third quarter, compared with $1,534 a year earlier and $1,531 in the second quarter, according to the bureau's table of asking rents and prices. The figures are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation. The median asking price for vacant homes for sale was $353,600, down from $365,800 a year earlier.

Asking rents for empty units are a different measure from the rents tenants already pay. In the Consumer Price Index, the index for rent of primary residence rose 2.8% in the 12 months to September, while prices overall rose 3.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 14. Our report on September consumer prices has the details.

Who owns their home

Homeownership rises with age. It was highest for householders aged 65 and over, at 79.1%, and lowest for those under 35, at 36.6%. Compared with a year earlier, the rate was higher in the oldest group and lower among householders aged 35 to 44, the bureau said. The changes in the other age groups were not statistically significant.

By region, homeownership was highest in the Midwest, at 69.5%, followed by the South at 67.2%, the Northeast at 62.9% and the West at 60.6%. None of the four rates was statistically different from a year earlier.

How to read the figures

The estimates come from a sample survey, the Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey, so each carries a margin of error, and the bureau tests every comparison it reports for statistical significance. The vacancy rates are not adjusted for seasonal patterns. The bureau's estimates for the fourth quarter of 2025 rest only on November and December data, because the survey collected no data in October 2025 during the lapse in federal funding. Metropolitan-area boundaries also changed in 2026, so the bureau urges caution when comparing city and suburban figures with a year earlier.

The next quarterly report, for October to December, is scheduled for February 2, 2027.