Rental housing markets, the incidence and duration of vacancy, and the natural vacancy rate

New intermetropolitan acid time-series data from the BLS are used to derive and model the incidence and duration of rental vacancies and to assess the ir importance to the price adjustment mechanism for rental housing. Researc h Findings indicate that duration varies with measures of MSA housing costs and housing stock heterogeneity, while incidence varies with measures of p opulation mobility, public housing availability, and population growth. Res ults support a more general specification of rental price adjustment in whi ch the rate of real rent change reflects deviations in observed vacancy inc idence and duration from their equilibrium levels. The research provides ne w estimates of equilibrium vacancy rates For a large set of metropolitan ar eas over the 1987-1996 period. (C) 2000 Academic Press.