Rental vacancies widen as homeownership stays largely unchanged

Census Bureau figures indicate that the rental market remains softer while the homeownership rate has barely budged, strengthening the argument mortgage brokers can make to renters considering a first-time purchase.

The U.S. rental market loosened further over the summer, even as the national homeownership rate stayed essentially level. That backdrop gives mortgage brokers more room to encourage tenants who may be weighing a move into ownership.

The U.S. Census Bureau said the rental vacancy rate climbed to 7.6% in the third quarter of 2026, up from 7.1% a year earlier and 7.3% in the prior quarter.

The homeownership rate was 65.5%, which the bureau described as statistically unchanged from 65.3% a year earlier and 65.0% in the previous quarter.

The homeowner vacancy rate, which measures the share of owner housing stock that is empty and for sale, remained at 1.2%.

Roughly 3.87 million year-round units were vacant and available for rent, about 317,000 more than a year earlier. The median asking rent for those units was $1,541, while vacant homes for sale carried a median asking price of $353,600.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey. Data are not seasonally adjusted.

Rental slack is most visible in cities

The softest conditions were in principal cities, where rental vacancies reached 8.8%, compared with 6.5% in the suburbs.

By region, the South had the highest rental vacancy rate at 9.2%. The Northeast and West also posted year-over-year increases, reaching 6.2% and 6.7%, respectively.

The bureau noted that changes in metropolitan boundaries between the two periods make some annual comparisons more difficult.

Lower rents have already been narrowing the monthly difference between renting and buying a starter home.

As buying costs have eased in many markets, renters who are disciplined about saving may have a better chance of building a down payment sooner than they expect, Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in April.

Ownership declines among those aged 35 to 44

Although the overall homeownership rate was flat, the age breakdown showed mixed results. Ownership among householders 65 and older increased to 79.1% from 77.9%, while the rate for people aged 35 to 44 slipped to 60.1% from 61.1%.

The rate for households under 35 was 36.6%, statistically unchanged. Ownership among households earning below the median family income rose to 52.6% from 51.8%.

Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Data & Analytics, has said the main hurdle for entry-level buyers is affordability rather than being locked into an older mortgage rate.

First-time buyers do not have a low-rate mortgage to give up; their challenge is whether they can afford to enter the market at all, she wrote in First American’s analysis of first-time and repeat buyer loan volumes.

Brokers have increasingly framed a first home as a stepping stone.

Part of the challenge is setting realistic expectations, mortgage broker and consultant Matt Gouge of Answer Home Loans said in an interview with Mortgage Professional America.

As a first-time buyer, he said, people should not expect four bedrooms, three baths and 2,800 square feet. A starter home is a starter home, and many buyers eventually accept that they may have to purchase less house than they hoped for. Still, he added, it is the first house and a step toward something bigger.

The Census Bureau is scheduled to release fourth-quarter figures later on.