Recent Update on Vacancies

An update of the Metropolitan Area Quarterly Residential and Business Vacancy Report, based on the HUD Aggregated USPS Administrative Data on Address Vacancies, has been released for the fourth quarter of 2009. Vacancy rates and changes from the previous quarter and previous year, similar to those shown below, are reported for metropolitan areas across the country. For purposes of this research, properties are deemed to be vacant when no one has taken in (or been available to receive) mail for 90 days or longer. This timeframe is seen as reflecting longer-term vacancy, rather than normal turnover.

These data — representing the "known universe" of all deliverable addresses in the United States — are displayed on new Metropolitan Area Quarterly Maps that provide a regional or metropolitan perspective on residential and business vacancies and, more importantly, their change over time (between quarters and from year-to-year). Through a special agreement with the USPS, HUD also aggregates and publishes the data at the census tract level, thus providing another potentially important indicator to measure the well-being of America's communities.