Vacancy Rate Dropped 9.3% Between Q3 2015 and Q1 2016

Irvine, CA, February 15, 2016—RealtyTrac has released its Q1 2016 U.S. Residential Property Vacancy Analysis, which shows that out of nearly 85 million residential properties (1 to 4 units) nationwide, more than 1.3 million (1.6%) were vacant at the beginning of February 2016, down 9.3% from the last residential property vacancy analysis in the third quarter of 2015.

“With several notable exceptions, the challenge facing most U.S. real estate markets is not too many vacant homes but too few,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “The razor-thin vacancy rates in many markets are placing upward pressure on home prices and rents. While that may be good news for sellers and landlords, it is bad news for buyers and renters and could be bad news for all if prices and rents are inflated above tolerable affordability thresholds.”

Among 147 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, those with the highest share of vacant properties were Flint, Michigan (7.5%), Detroit (5.3%), Youngstown, Ohio (4.4%), Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (3.8%), and Atlantic City, New Jersey (3.7%).

Other major metro areas with vacancy rates above the national average included Indianapolis (3.0%), Tampa (2.9%), Miami (2.8%), Cleveland (2.8%), and St. Louis (2.6%).