City Council Agenda and Packet 2023 09 26 SP

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Vacancy Rates The Census defines vacancy as unoccupied Exhibit 41: Vacancy Rates, Louisville and housing units considered vacant". Vacancy Boulder County, 2011-2021 status is determined by how the unit would Source: ACS 5-Year Data Tables, 2007-2011, 2017- 2021 likely be occupied, e.g., "for rent, for sale, or for goo seasonal use only." Vacancy rates are cyclical 6.2% 5.5% and represent the lag between demand and the 6% . - market's response to demand for additional 4% 2 5% 3.1% dwelling units. Vacancy rates for rental and 2% multifamily units are typically higher than those for owner -occupied and single-family dwelling units. As of 2021, Louisville had 265 vacant Louisville Boulder County housing units, representing 3.1% of the City's ■ 2011 2021 total housing stock. From 2011 to 2021, the share of units labeled vacant due to being "for rent" increased by 58%. High vacancy rates for rental units could indicate that available rental stock is not attainable for renter households in the area; it could also be mismatched in other ways, such as not being large enough for growing renter households. Over the same period, the share of vacant units labeled as being vacant "for sale" dropped from 15% to zero, likely a reflection of a constrained housing market as median homeowner incomes increased over the time period. In 2021, of the vacant units reported, 19% of them were due to seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. While this data point is not comprehensive for understanding the intensity of short-term rentals or second and vacation homes, it can be used as an indicator for their presence in Louisville. Please note that while there were no units reported vacant for this reason in 2011, this is likely due to limited data availability rather than a reflection of the housing stock. Several smaller jurisdictions in the area (including Erie and Superior) reported zero vacant seasonal housing units until 2013, after which the share has remained relatively consistent. Over the same time period, the share of vacant units labeled as "other vacant" in ACS data dropped by 63%. However, the Census changed how it collected its vacancy by reason data in 2012.9 Notably, it expanded its "other vacant" answer options in order to gather more detailed information, so it is possible than units marked "other vacant" in 2011 would have been classified differently in following years. For this reason, we have calculated the distribution of vacancy by reason in Exhibit 42 below excluding "other vacant" units. 9 https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/gtr113/PAA-poster.pdf ECONorthwest 36 43