DWINDLING HOUSING VACANCY

Despite a 21% increase in the number of dwellings since 1980, housing availability is a losing battle in Orange County. Just 3.14% of housing units here are currently vacant, compared to 4.89% 10 years ago. Sixteen cities plus the unincorporated areas all have vacancy rates lower than the countywide level. And nine (plus the unincorporated) have rates lower than 2%--the lowest being Fountain Valley’s 1.07%.

Not all markets are drying up, however; some cities have higher rates than they did 10 years ago. Laguna Beach, with the highest vacancy rate outright (a comparatively stratospheric 13.25%), has the largest positive increase compared to 10 years ago, 3.51%. The vacancy rates in Yorba Linda, La Palma, San Juan Capistrano and Villa Park have also increased compared to 1980. Here’s how the cities compare today, listed from smallest to largest vacancy rates:

City 1980 1990 Difference Fountain Valley 1.42 1.07 -.35 Stanton 4.83 1.11 -3.72 Unincorporated areas 6.68 1.18 -5.50 Garden Grove 2.93 1.33 -1.60 Cypress 1.97 1.48 -.49 Irvine 5.23 1.61 -3.62 Costa Mesa 4.07 1.63 -2.44 La Palma 1.35 1.66 +.31 Villa Park 1.66 1.72 +.06 Orange 3.59 1.93 -1.66 Tustin 3.27 2.04 -1.23 Buena Park 3.05 2.10 -.95 Los Alamitos 2.47 2.16 -.31 Huntington Beach 4.02 2.39 -1.63 Westminster 2.96 2.73 -.23 Fullerton 4.14 3.06 -1.08 La Habra 3.82 3.08 -.74 Anaheim 3.60 3.15 -.45 Seal Beach 4.14 3.21 -0.93 Mission Viejo N/A 3.26 -- Placentia 5.14 3.44 -1.70 Santa Ana 4.68 4.06 -.62 Yorba Linda 4.40 5.62 +1.20 Brea 11.50 6.09 -5.41 San Clemente 11.10 6.25 -4.85 Newport Beach 11.39 8.41 -2.96 Dana Point N/A 8.44 -- San Juan Capistrano 9.03 9.24 +.21 Laguna Beach 9.74 13.25 +3.51 Laguna Niguel N/A N/A -- TOTAL COUNTY 4.89 3.14 -1.75

Source: California State Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit