While the U.S. continues to face a housing shortage, a recent report from online lending marketplace Lending Tree shows many homes across the country actually remain vacant. Some of these homes are temporarily vacant, with more than 5.6 million vacant units in the 50 largest metropolitan areas.
New Orleans, Miami, and Tampa, Fla., have the highest vacancy rates at 14.5%, 12.92%, and 11.81%, respectively. In these cities, nearly 600,000 homes were vacant as of 2023. This is due to a number of factors, including high home prices, unused rental homes, and homes being used as vacation properties.
Nearly half of all vacant units in the nation’s 50 largest metros sit empty because they’re waiting to be rented or they’re only used part of the year. 27.90% of the vacant housing units featured in this study are vacant because they’re for rent, while 20.73% are only occupied part time for seasonal, recreational or occasional uses.
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