Glossary
Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS)
The Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) is the Census Bureau's quarterly program producing US rental and homeowner vacancy rates, homeownership rates and housing inventory. Both CPS/HVS datasets in this catalog ship it as data - one as about 30 historical Excel workbooks reaching back to 1956, the other as the quarterly release portal.
What is Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS)?
The Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey is a quarterly federal survey turning field interviews into housing-stock measures: rental vacancy rate, homeowner vacancy rate, homeownership rate, total inventory and median asking rent. In this slice every dataset is a CPS/HVS product; the Historical Tables set alone ships about 30 Excel workbooks (Tables 1-19, B1-B10 and seven Vintage 2025 revised tables).
Series start dates differ by measure: household estimates begin in 1955, rental and homeowner vacancy rates in 1956, homeownership rates by region in 1964, housing inventory in 1965, and median asking rent only in 1988.
Why does Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) matter when choosing a dataset?
Vacancy and homeownership series are the denominator behind most housing-market claims. Benchmark a REIT's occupancy against the wrong vintage and your baseline is quietly wrong.
- Vintage drift is real. Seven tables carry Vintage 2025 revisions; mixing them with unrevised rows produces artificial jumps.
- 2020-2021 estimates carry an interpretive caution in the Source and Accuracy documentation, so pandemic-era comparisons need a flag.
- Publication standards bind you too. Census requires that standard errors and methodology accompany any derived publication.
- It is free, like 82.4% of this catalog: both products are public-domain downloads you can validate before buying anything else.
How do you evaluate Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) in a data source?
- Confirm the table list matches your need. US Census CPS/HVS Historical Tables publishes about 30 Excel workbooks from roughly 36 KB (Table 7a) to 461 KB (Table 1); if the measure you need is not among Tables 1-19 and B1-B10, it is not in this product.
- Check each series' true start year. Rental vacancy reaches back to 1956 but median asking rent starts in 1988 - a vendor quoting '70 years of rent data' is blending series.
- Verify quarter alignment before joining. Rows are labeled like '2026 2nd'; annual tables (5-7, 9, 12, 15) will not line up with quarterly ones without explicit resampling.
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Where to see it in context: commercial-residential-mortgage-finance data.
Related terms
Entries that sit next to Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) in this glossary:
Frequently asked questions
What does the CPS/HVS actually publish?
Quarterly rental and homeowner vacancy rates, homeownership rates by region, race, income and age of householder, housing inventory, and median asking rent and sales price, across the four Census regions with MSA and principal-city splits.
How far back does the Housing Vacancy Survey go?
Household estimates start in 1955, vacancy rates in 1956, homeownership rates in 1964 and housing inventory in 1965; median asking rent begins only in 1988, so long-run panels must stitch measures carefully.
Is CPS/HVS data free to use?
Yes. Both cataloged CPS/HVS products are public-domain US government work, downloadable without registration; Census asks that publications cite the Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey and carry standard errors.
Datasets containing this field
Datasets containing Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS)
6 datasets carry housing vacancy survey (cps/hvs) in the catalog. Open one, count the fields, judge for yourself.
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