{"id":281,"date":"2025-07-24T10:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T10:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ozelegitimakademi.org\/?p=281"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T15:50:10","slug":"how-to-determine-vacancy-rate-for-your-rental-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ozelegitimakademi.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/24\/how-to-determine-vacancy-rate-for-your-rental-property\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Determine Vacancy Rate for Your Rental Property"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re a landlord, investor, or agent, knowing how to determine the vacancy rate is key to understanding a rental property\u2019s health. It is the percentage of all rentable units in a property that are unoccupied and not generating income at a given time, which gives you an idea how much of the investment portfolio is sitting empty instead of earning.<\/p>\n

In this article, I\u2019ll break down the exact vacancy rate formulas, show you what a \u201chealthy\u201d rate looks like in today\u2019s market, and identify factors that affect how quickly rental properties get leased.<\/p>\n

Vacancy rate formulas: By unit count & by days vacant<\/h2>\n

Calculating the vacancy rate sounds technical, but the math is very simple and straightforward. Whether you\u2019re looking at a single rental or managing a multi-unit property, the calculation doesn\u2019t change much.<\/p>\n

There are two common ways to compute it, and the right one depends on what you\u2019re trying to measure.<\/p>\n

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  1. Vacancy rate by unit count:<\/strong> Use this when you need a quick snapshot of the number of units currently vacant. This is great for monthly reporting, multifamily properties, or property marketing analysis.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Vacancy Rate = (Number of Vacant Units \u00f7 Total Units) x 100<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Example:<\/strong> If you manage a 10-unit apartment building and two units are currently empty:<\/p>\n

    (2 \u00f7 10) x 100 = 20% vacancy rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

    2. Vacancy rate by days vacant:<\/strong> Use this formula to evaluate how long units sit empty over a specified period. This is best used for tracking portfolio performance, seasonal trends, or lease turnover efficiency.<\/p>\n

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    Vacancy Rate = (Vacant Days \u00f7 Rentable Days) x 100<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Vacant days <\/strong>= The total number of days a unit was empty during the period.<\/p>\n

    Rentable days <\/strong>= Total possible days the unit could have been rented. It\u2019s usually 365 days per year, per unit.<\/p>\n

    Example:<\/strong> You own a single-family rental that was vacant for 25 days this year:<\/p>\n

    (25 \u00f7 365) x 100 = 6.85% vacancy rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What\u2019s a \u201chealthy\u201d vacancy rate?<\/h2>\n

    No single number fits every market, but industry consensus puts a \u201chealthy\u201d vacancy rate for residential rentals between 5% and 8%.1<\/a> <\/sup>This range generally indicates a stable balance: your properties aren\u2019t flooded with empty units, and you\u2019re also not drastically underpricing or overcharging.<\/p>\n

    To help you make sense of the numbers, here\u2019s a loose framework I like to use when reviewing vacancy rates. It\u2019s not official, but it\u2019s a useful gut check:<\/p>\n