Vacancy rates hit all-time high in the States
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News on USA
8 May 2008
There are currently a record number of vacant homes in America, according to a government report.
The Census Bureau reveals that 2.9% of US homes intended for owner-occupancy were vacant at the end of Q1 2008. Before 2006, that figure had never exceeded 2%.
Furthermore, the rental market is also marked by high vacancies at the moment. Overall, 10.1% of US homes intended for rental are vacant. That rate is a little below the record level hit in 2004, but it is still higher than it ever was before the construction boom of this decade.
In the rental market, the vacancy rates are similar for houses and apartments. However, in the owner-occupier market, the vacancies are much more concentrated in the condominium market. In buildings with five to nine residential units, the condominium vacancy rate is an unprecedented 15.2%, up from 12.2% at the end of 2007. Prior to 2006, that rate had never been high than 10%.
Owners of new US homes have been worst affected, as the vacancy rates in those properties are far higher than in older buildings. For homes and condominiums built after March 2000, the vacancy rate for homes intended for owner occupancy is 10.2%, up from 8.8% at the end of 2007.
For rental units, the figures are even greater. There is a staggering 25.2% vacant homes in that sector.
At the end of 2007, the areas with the highest vacancy rates in housing that was intended for owner-occupancy was Detroit, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, Orlando and Tampa in Florida, and Las Vegas. Although home prices have fallen sharply in parts of California, only the Sacramento area shows high vacancy levels.