“These statistics provide vacancy rates, homeownership rates, and characteristics of units available for occupancy for the U.S., regions, states and the 75 largest metropolitan areas. The state and metropolitan statistics are available annually, while national and regional statistics are available quarterly. Homeownership rates are also tabulated by age of householder and by family status for the U.S. and regions. Estimates of the total housing inventory and percent distributions of vacant for-rent and for-sale-only units are available for the U.S. and regions. This information is used by public and private sector organizations to evaluate the need for new housing programs and initiatives, and the rental vacancy rate is used by the government and economic forecasters to gauge the economic climate.”