What Vacancies Tell Us About the Housing Market
The number of empty homes across the country says more about market conditions than you might think. Vacancy rates can signal shifts in supply and demand, affecting everything from home values to affordability. While too many empty homes might hurt the market, they also can open doors for renters hoping to buy. To get a stronger sense of how the current volume of vacanies are impacting the marketplace, online lending platform LendingTree analyzed U.S. Census data on vacancy rates in states across the U.S. They found that the nationwide vacany rate sits at 10.43%—accounting for nearly 15 million homes—but varies significantly by state.
Which states have the highest vacancy rates?
Maine, Vermont, and Alaska have the highest vacancy rates, with 21.1%, 20.1% and 18.2%, respectively. Combined, there are 285,000 vacant homes in those three states.
However, those relatively high vacancy rates are likely due to the number of vacation properties in those states rather than an overabundance of unsold inventory or a significant increase in foreclosures causing homes to sit vacant.
Which states have the lowest vacancy rates?
States with lower vacancy rates are predominantly located throughout the West. At 7.42%, Washington has the lowest vacancy rate across all states, followed by Oregon and Connecticut at 7.46% and 7.54%, respectively.
While these three states’ vacancy rates are low compared to the national average, the combined number of vacant homes in them is much higher than in the states with the lowest vacancy rates. For instance, Maine—the state with the highest vacancy rate—has 157,467 vacant homes, while Washington has 242,109 vacant homes.
Disparities in a state's total housing inventory explain that dynamic. Simply, states with the lowest vacancy rates have more housing inventory than those with the highest vacancy rates. In Maine, there are only 746,552 total housing units, while in Washington, there are over 3.26 million.
How do vacancies break down by metro?
- 10 Housing Markets With the Most Zombie Foreclosures: A study from late last year found that there were 7,700 homes sitting vacant in the U.S. due to zombie foreclosures, or homes that were abandoned by their owners prior to foreclosure.
- 10 Housing Markets Where Vacancy Rates Are the Highest: More than 5 million vacant homes are located within the 50 most populous U.S. metros.