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Housing Picture <br />In areas where the rate of population growth ex- <br />ceeds the rate of housing growth, this is likely <br />to reflect a tightening housing market. A tighten- <br />ing housing market will also likely be reflected <br />in lower vacancy rates and higher occupancy <br />rates. It may also be reflected in higher numbers <br />of people per household. <br />Over the last 5 years, Redwood City has experi- <br />enced a significant tightening of its housing mar- <br />ket relative to the County as a whole. This is <br />primarily evident in the vacancy rate in the two <br />regions. In Redwood City, the vacancy rate de- <br />clined from 4.1% to 2.6%, or by 37.2 percent. <br />In the County as a whole, the vacancy rate ac- <br />tually increased by 12.3%. Population in Red- <br />wood City grew by nearly 12%, but by just 6.6% <br />countywide. The number of occupied units in <br />Redwood City increased faster than did the to- <br />tal number of homes, while it grew slower in <br />San Mateo County. All of these trends indicate <br />a significant tightening of the housing market <br />in Redwood City relative to the County as a <br />whole. <br />Table 3. Housing Market Indicators for Redwood City <br />% Change from <br />Indicator 2016 2010 2010 <br />Total Population 85,992.0 76,815.0 11.9 <br />Total # of Homes 30,651.0 29,167.0 5.1 <br /># Occupied Units 29,853.0 27,957.0 6.8 <br />Persons per Household 2.8 2.7 5.3 <br />Vacancy Rate (%)2.6 4.1 -37.2 <br />Source: CA DOF; Calculations by Marin Economic Consulting <br />Table 4. Housing Market Indicators for San Mateo County <br />% Change from <br />Indicator 2016 2010 2010 <br />Total Population 766,041.0 718,451.0 6.6 <br />Total # of Homes 276,036.0 271,031.0 1.8 <br /># Occupied Units 260,940.0 257,837.0 1.2 <br />Persons per Household 2.9 2.8 5.4 <br />Vacancy Rate (%)5.5 4.9 12.3 <br />Source: CA DOF; Calculations by Marin Economic Consulting <br />Housing units did increase faster in Redwood <br />City than in the County or state, but the num- <br />ber of persons per household grew in lock- <br />step with the same number for the County as <br />a whole. Both of which grew faster than in the <br />state. Whether this increase is the result of more <br />singles living together or more generations of <br />families living together, it is a reasonably clear <br />indicator of scarce housing and high housing <br />costs. <br />17