Commerce Department Issues Secret Report Showing Plunge in Housing Vacancy Rates

Okay, it's not really secret. You can find it here, but the almost complete absence of media coverage might have led people to believe that the report was secret.

Anyhow, the numbers are striking. The report showed a decline in the rental vacancy rate from 8.8 percent to 8.6 percent. The vacancy rate for ownership units fell from 2.2 percent to 2.1 percent. While the quarterly drop by itself is not that impressive, it follows a sharp drop reported for the prior quarter. This suggests that the...