The U.S. housing market is at one of its strongest points in decades, according to 24/7 Wall Street’s Michael B. Sauter, with just 1.52% of single-owner homes and condos vacant nationwide – the lowest rate since the 1990s. However, 29 major U.S. cities have at least 5,000 vacant single-family homes or condos – and of that number, 27 have a vacancy rate above the national average.
Gary, Indiana has the highest vacancy rate in the country, with 19.4% of its 29,500 single-family homes listed as vacant in tax assessor data. Hilton Head Island, S.C. comes in second, with 16.9% of its 30,945 single-family homes are listed as vacant, followed by Flint and Detroit, Mich. at 15.7% and 11.2%.
The cities on this list with the highest rates – places like Flint and Detroit, Michigan and Gary, Indiana – are often legacy cities well known for their long-term economic decline due to deindustrialization. In these cities, vacancy rates are well in excess of 10%.
A large number of the American cities with the most vacant homes can be found in the Midwest. In many of these cities, including those suffering from long term industrial decline, relatively high vacancy rates may be due in part to new regulations that have made buying a home harder.
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