[faet]

One issue is with how the census/fed defines vacancy.

>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.

If a builder is building a house and it has a roof/windows/doors/floors but no occupancy permit, utilities are not hooked up, and there are no appliances/furniture that is counted as 'vacant' even though you technically can't live there.

If I left an apartment today (12th) and my lease ends the 30th. Even if a lease is in place at the start of the next month that still counts as a vacancy.

If I have a 2nd home I share with family/friends/short term lease that is generally occupied, it's still "vacant".

[jeffbee]

This is the true math right here. An apartment that is occupied for a year, then takes a month to lease out again, results in an 8% vacancy rate. That’s just one of the reasons. People who think we can drive the vacancy rate down, even though it already stands at a record low, are crazy.