Nearly 5.5 Million Homes Are Vacant in the Nation’s Largest Metros — Here’s Where Vacancy Rates Are Highest and Lowest

Even in the face of reduced buyer demand, a lack of available housing inventory has helped keep housing costs high throughout many of the nation’s big cities. But as counterintuitive as it may seem, nearly 5.5 million homes sit vacant across the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.

This doesn’t mean millions of abandoned and dilapidated homes are lining metro streets. Vacant homes can be — and usually are — unoccupied for many reasons beyond being uninhabitable. For example, a house can be vacant because it’s still on the market to be sold or rented or because it’s a vacation home not being used.

LendingTree analyzed the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data to rank the nation’s 50 largest metros by their shares of unoccupied homes. We also looked closely at the reasons why because an area’s vacancy rate can be an important part of understanding the overall health and character of its housing market.

While vacancy rates can vary significantly, tens of thousands of housing units sit vacant in each of the metros featured in our study.

Key findings

• 5,475,687 housing units are vacant across the nation’s 50 largest metros. The average vacancy rate across these 50 metros is 7.22%.
• New Orleans, Miami and Tampa, Fla., have the highest vacancy rates. The vacancy rates in these metros are 13.88%, 12.65% and 12.15%, respectively. In these three metros, more than 600,000 housing units are vacant.
• Vacancy rates are lowest in Minneapolis, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. At 4.51%, 4.57%, and 4.98% Minneapolis, Austin and D.C. are the only metros in our study with vacancy rates below 5.00%.
• Housing units commonly sit empty because they’re waiting to be rented, only used for part of the year or undergoing repairs and/or renovations. On average, 26.61% of the vacant housing units across the nation’s 50 largest metros are empty because they’re for rent. An average of 17.04% are vacant because they’re only used part time, while an average of 7.98% are empty because they’re being repaired or renovated. Just because a unit is unused doesn’t mean it’s unwanted or it’ll remain empty for long.

Metros with the highest vacancy rates

No. 1: New Orleans

• Total housing units: 580,426
• Vacant housing units: 80,541
• Vacancy rate: 13.88%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for rent
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 18.62%
• Median home value: $265,800
• Median gross rent: $1,148

No. 2: Miami

• Total housing units: 2,683,497
• Vacant housing units: 339,451
• Vacancy rate: 12.65%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for seasonal, recreational or occasional use
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 53.32%
• Median home value: $429,800
• Median gross rent: $1,712

No. 3: Tampa, Fla.

• Total housing units: 1,512,833
• Vacant housing units: 183,758
• Vacancy rate: 12.15%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for seasonal, recreational or occasional use
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 43.89%
• Median home value: $344,400
• Median gross rent: $1,477

Metros with the lowest vacancy rates

No. 1: Minneapolis

• Total housing units: 1,553,533
• Vacant housing units: 70,080
• Vacancy rate: 4.51%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for rent
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 30.42%
• Median home value: $359,800
• Median gross rent: $1,355

No. 2: Austin, Texas

• Total housing units: 1,048,041
• Vacant housing units: 47,938
• Vacancy rate: 4.57%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for rent
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 27.13%
• Median home value: $490,000
• Median gross rent: $1,599

No. 3: Washington, D.C.

• Total housing units: 2,549,655
• Vacant housing units: 126,994
• Vacancy rate: 4.98%
• Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for rent
• Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 30.63%
• Median home value: $553,100
• Median gross rent: $1,864

If so many homes are vacant, why are housing prices still so high?

In a simplified version of the housing market, vacancy rates should have a strong inverse relationship to home and rent prices. In other words, high vacancy rates should signify a lack of demand from buyers and/or renters, resulting in a larger supply of homes on the market and lower prices. The inverse should also be true where a low vacancy rate signifies strong demand, less supply and higher prices.

With the high housing prices, it may seem strange that so many homes in the nation’s largest metros are sitting empty.

Because of this, an area’s overall vacancy rates can’t fully explain why homes are so expensive. But that doesn’t mean that understanding an area’s vacancy rate can’t help shed light on how an area’s housing market is fairing.

For example, if both vacancy rates and prices are relatively low, it could mean that sellers are parting with their homes for less money than they could have potentially received. If vacancy rates are low and housing prices are high, it could signify that the market is highly competitive and that lower-income consumers might have a problem finding a house.

On the flip side, high vacancy rates and home prices can suggest that an area has unique characteristics, such as being a vacation hot spot or targeted by investors. Meanwhile, high vacancy rates and low home prices might mean an area is experiencing socioeconomic hardships.

Tips for dealing with an expensive housing market

With persistently high prices, steep rates and a limited number of homes available for sale, it can be tricky for buyers to navigate today’s housing market. But by keeping the following tips in mind, homebuyers may find dealing with the market less daunting than expected.

• Shop around for the best possible rate. By shopping around and making different lenders compete for your business before getting a mortgage, you may be able to secure a lower interest rate than if you chose the first lender. The lower your rate, the less money you’ll need to spend on monthly housing costs and the more expensive a home you’ll be able to afford. Shopping around can be an especially effective strategy in a high-rate market like today’s.
• Consider different loan options. Not all loans have the same mortgage requirements. If you’re worried that you won’t qualify for a traditional 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, you may still find that you can get approved for loans from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• Get preapproved for your mortgage. If you’re ready to start house hunting, getting preapproved for a mortgage could help you move quickly through the homebuying process once you’ve found a house. On top of that, a preapproval will give you a more concrete sense of what you can afford.

Methodology

Data for this study comes from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey with one-year estimates (the latest American Community Survey available).

This study measures the overall vacancy rate in a metro by dividing the number of vacant households by the total number of households.

Occupied households include homes owned or rented by occupants who use the home as their primary residence, while vacant households are broken down into the following subcategories:

• For rent: Vacant units offered “for rent” or either “for rent” or “for sale.”
• Rented, not occupied: Vacant units rented but not yet occupied. Money could have been paid or agreed upon without the unit being occupied yet.
• For sale only: Vacant units offered “for sale only,” including units in cooperatives and condo projects.
• Sold, not occupied: Vacant units sold but not yet occupied. Sale could have been completed without the home being occupied yet.
• For seasonal, recreational or occasional use: Vacant units used or intended for certain seasons, weekends or other occasional uses. Seasonal units can include beach cottages, hunting cabins and quarters for workers as herders and loggers. This also includes interval ownership units — sometimes referenced as shared ownership or timeshares.
• For migrant workers: Vacant units intended for occupancy by migrant workers employed in crop-season farmwork.
• Foreclosure: Vacant units because owners’ payments weren’t being made. Includes units under foreclosure, up for auction, repossessed or similar scenarios.
• Personal/family reasons: Vacant units because of the owners’ preferences and/or personal situations. Includes units where the owner doesn’t want to rent or sell, is still deciding what to do, is keeping for family usage or other similar scenarios.
• Legal proceedings: Vacant units due to legal issues or disputes, such as estate settlements, divorce or eviction proceedings. Could also involve code violations.
• Preparing to rent/sell: Vacant units because the owner is preparing to rent or sell. Owner could be meeting soon with the listing agent to prepare to put the unit on the market.
• Held for household furniture storage: Vacant units because they’re storing excess household furniture or other household items.
• Needs repairs: Vacant units in need of repairs, including renovations or cleaning, but aren’t actively being repaired.
• Currently being repaired/renovated: Vacant units needing repairs that are undergoing work.
• Specific-use housing: Vacant units only used by a specific group of people at one or various times throughout the year, such as military housing, transient quarters or student housing.
• Extended absence: Vacant units intended for year-round occupancy but are vacant for six months or more.
• Abandoned/possibly to be demolished/possibly condemned: Vacant units that are abandoned or are to be demolished or condemned.
• Other: Vacant units for reasons that don’t fit the above categories.