The trend of this data provides a good indicator, but it is not as reliable for each data point, said Bill McBride Thursday in his fabulous Calculated Risk. Madison’s regularly features US Price-to-Rent ratio insight from Calculated Risk, as that can be a good forward indicator — if interpreted carefully.
The US Residential Vacancies and Homeownership Report (HVS), released by US Census, is frequently mentioned by analysts and the media to track household formation, the homeownership rate, and the homeowner and rental vacancy rates, explains McBride. However, there are serious questions about the accuracy of this survey. This survey might show the trend, but don’t rely on the absolute numbers.
The Census Bureau is investigating the data collection process between the respective agency groups. So best to use homeownership rate only as a guide to the trend
The HVS homeownership rate increased to 64.8% in 4Q 2018, from 64.4% in 3Q. — Calculated Risk
- The HVS homeowner vacancy decreased to 1.5% in 3Q.
- The rental vacancy rate decreased to 6.6% in 4Q.
The HVS homeownership rate increased to 64.8% in 4Q, from 64.4% in 3Q. Read more at https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2019/02/hvs-q4-2018-homeownership-and-vacancy.html#6frLkmoHMhjYOrXb.99
