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50 | M REPORT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Roughly 16M Homes Remain Vacant Nationwide Across the nation's 50 most expensive towns, an average of 23.42% of homes currently sit vacant, de- spite waiting to be rented, sold, or the homeowners staying in their primary residence. A new analysis from a March LendingTree study found more than 16 million vacant hous- ing units in the United States. This figure may seem steep but becomes more reasonable when you consider how many homes nationwide sit empty while they're waiting to be rented or sold or their owners are staying in their primary residence. While there are plenty of va- cant homes in big cities, vacancy rates are often steeper in towns. With that in mind, LendingTree used U.S. Census Bureau 2020 American Community Survey data to analyze vacancy rates in the nation's 50 most expensive micropolitan areas—referred to in this study as "towns"—with popu- lations between 10,000 and 50,000. • More than 320,000 homes across the nation's most ex- pensive towns sit vacant. Of these homes, a bit more than two-thirds are empty because they're only used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. • Across the nation's 50 most expensive towns, an average of 23.42% of homes are vacant. That translates to 320,346 empty houses. • Breckenridge, Colorado, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, have the highest vacancy rates among the most expensive towns. An average of nearly 60% of all homes in these popular vacation and tourist destinations are vacant. Of those vacant homes, an average of 83.69% are unoccu- pied because they're only used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. In other words, vacation homes that go unused for most of the year are the main contributor to the high vacancy rates in these towns. • Juneau, Alaska, Faribault, Minnesota, and Moscow, Idaho, have the lowest vacancy rates among the most expensive towns. An average of only 7.54% of homes in these towns are vacant—15.88 percentage points lower than the average vacancy rate of 23.42% across the nation's 50 most expensive towns. • Homes across the country's most expensive towns are most likely to be vacant because they're only used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. An average of 58.88% of the vacant homes analyzed in our study are empty for that reason. • Towns with higher vacancy rates tend to have more expen- sive homes than those with lower vacancy rates. Median home values in the 10 towns with the highest vacancy rates are an average of $177,190 more expensive than median home values in the 10 towns with the lowest vacancy rates. While exceptions exist, the main rea- son for this likely stems from how buyers are often willing to spend top dollar on vaca- tion homes they don't live in year-round. Towns with the HIGHEST vacancy rates Breckenridge, Colorado • Total number of housing units: 31,158 • Overall vacancy rate: 62.74% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Used for seasonal, recre- ational, or occasional use • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common reason: 93.83% • Median home value: $596,300 Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts • Total number of housing units: 18,030 • Overall vacancy rate: 61.80% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Used for seasonal, recre- ational, or occasional use • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common vacancy reason: 96.15% • Median home value: $794,000 Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina • Total number of housing units: 35,007 • Overall vacancy rate: 54.78% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Used for seasonal, recre- ational, or occasional use • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common vacancy reason: 61.10% • Median home value: $297,200 Towns with the LOWEST vacancy rates Juneau, Alaska • Total number of housing units: 13,792 • Overall vacancy rate: 6.63% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Other • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common vacancy reason: 37.86% • Median home value: $355,100 Faribault, Minnesota • Total number of housing units: 25,161 • Overall vacancy rate: 7.86% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Other • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common vacancy reason: 42.21% • Median home value: $232,800 Moscow, Idaho • Total number of housing units: 17,132 • Overall vacancy rate: 8.14% • Most common reason why homes are vacant: Other • Percentage of homes that are vacant for most common vacancy reason: 49.61% • Median home value: $245,200 High vacancy rates don't always mean there isn't a lot of demand for housing in a given area. As a result, home prices in that area would be lower than in an area with a lower vacancy rate. Homes aren't necessarily vacant because they're unwanted. Instead, houses can be considered vacant because they're not in use. For example, a pricey vacation home sitting empty because its owner is at their primary residence would be considered vacant, as would a recently sold home that isn't quite move-in ready. An area's vacancy rate alone can't show the popularity of a given housing market or how expensive it's likely to be; how- ever, that doesn't mean an area's vacancy rate isn't important or can't shed light on what's happen- ing within a specific market. High vacancy rates and high home prices can suggest that an area has a strong housing market, but many people live elsewhere for most of the year. This is com- monly the case in resort towns like Breckenridge, Colorado. High vacancy rates and low home prices, on the other hand, could mean that a housing market is struggling and there isn't much demand for housing. If vacancy rates are low and housing prices are high, it could signify that the market is very com- petitive and that there isn't enough housing supply to satisfy demand. If both vacancy rates and home prices are low, it could mean that demand is high, but sellers are selling their homes for less than what they could have gotten. Ultimately, understanding vacancy rates is important to understanding the overall housing market. But to appreciate what a vacancy rate means, you must look behind the facade at the reasons why homes are vacant.