Vacant Homes Rise to 18.8 Million on Defaults
About 18.8 million homes stood empty in the U.S. during the third quarter as banks seized properties from delinquent borrowers and new home sales fell in September.
The number of vacant properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, rose from 18.4 million a year earlier and 18.7 million in the second quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The record high was in the first quarter, when 18.95 million homes were vacant. The homeownership rate, meaning households that own their own residence, stood at 67.6 percent.
Vacancy Rate
The percentage of all U.S. homes empty and for sale, known as the vacancy rate, rose to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent in the second quarter. It hit an all-time high of 2.9 percent in the first and fourth quarters of 2008, the Census Bureau said.
There were 130.3 million homes in the U.S. in the third quarter, according to the report. In addition to the 2 million empty properties for sale, the report counted 4.6 million vacant homes for rent and 4.6 million seasonal properties that are only used for part of the year.
U.S. Home Vacancies Rise to 18.8 Million on Defaults
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