THE PERCENT OF U.S. HOMES FOR SALE THAT ARE VACANT HAS RISEN
TO ITS HIGHEST LEVEL IN THE FOUR DECADES SINCE THE CENSUS BUREAU
HAS BEEN KEEPING THE STATISTIC. Wall St Journal Feb 5th- Last week, the bureau said that
in the final three months of 2006 there were about 2.1 million vacant homes for sale. That brought the national homeowner vacancy rate to 2.7%, up from 2.0% a year earlier. Before 2006, the number had never risen above 2.0%. The figures vary by region: 3.0% in the South; 2.9% in the Midwest; 2.4% in the West; and 2.0% in the Northeast.
The WSJ reports that, ``Many economists agree that the rising vacancies have likely been fueled by a group that is proving to be the wild card of this housing market: speculators.
During the boom, they flooded the market and flipped homes for a profit. When sales slowed, speculators were stuck with vacant homes that have lingered on the market.''
Buildings with five or more units--which include condos that were favorites of speculators--had the highest rate of vacancy. The vacancy rate among these units rose to 11% in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 7% in the first quarter. For single-family
homes, the vacancy rate rose to 2.3% in the fourth quarter from
1.8% in the first quarter.
The WSJ article blandly talks of the ``excess housing supply'' when we have how many homeless in this country? Housing prices continue to go up, while unoccupied housing mushrooms.
