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Housing Inventory Estimate: Vacant Housing Units in the United States EVACANTUSQ176N

Thousands of Units • Quarterly • Not Seasonally Adjusted
Source: FRED | Last updated: 2025-07-28 09:31:13-05 | Range: 2000-04-01 → 2025-04-01

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Trend

Momentum

Trend Heat Strip & Seasonality

YoY Heat Strip

≤ −5% Decline > +5% Growth

Seasonality (Average by Month)

What am I looking at?

What it shows: the average level of the series for each calendar month (Jan…Dec) across the full history.

Computation: for each month m, take the mean of all observations whose calendar month = m (all years equally weighted).
Interpretation:
- Not seasonally adjusted (NSA): clear recurring peaks/troughs by month.
- Seasonally adjusted (SA): should be fairly flat (seasonality already removed).
Caveats: uses raw levels, so long-run trend can dominate; best for monthly series. For a relative view, consider a seasonal index (month_mean ÷ overall_mean − 1) or limit to the last N years.

Distribution & Extremes

Histogram of Monthly Changes

Context

Recent Prints

Date	Value	MoM	YoY

Release

Housing Vacancies and Homeownership

See full release page

Typical schedule and next expected date may vary; check the release page for official timing.

What this measures & how to read it

A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of the interview, unless its occupants are only temporarily absent. In addition, a vacant unit may be one which is entirely occupied by persons who have a usual residence elsewhere. New units not yet occupied are classified as vacant housing units if construction has reached a point where all exterior windows and doors are installed and final usable floors are in place. Vacant units are excluded if they are exposed to the elements, that is, if the roof, walls, windows, or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements, or if there is positive evidence (such as a sign on the house or block) that the unit is to be demolished or is condemned. Also excluded are quarters being used entirely for nonresidential purposes, such as a store or an office, or quarters used for the storage of business supplies or inventory, machinery, or agricultural products. Vacant sleeping rooms in lodging houses, transient accommodations, barracks, and other quarters not defined as housing units are not included in the statistics.

Tip: focus on multi-month trends to reduce noise from seasonality, one-off shocks, and revisions.