US rental vacancy rate rises to 7.6% in the third quarter

The Census Bureau said the national rental vacancy rate was 7.6% in the third quarter, up from 7.1% a year earlier, and the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%. The homeownership rate was 65.5%, which it said was "not statistically different" from 65.3% a year earlier or from 65.0% in the second quarter of 2026.