Vacancies look emptier in different places
Published: March 24, 2008 at 4:38 PM
DETROIT, March 24 (UPI) -- Vacancy rates for non-rental homes now places Florida, Nevada and Michigan at the top of the less-than-glorious list of states with too many unsold homes.
Florida and Nevada are two states that have met up with the housing bubble, after a boom in housing starts in recent years.
Michigan, however, with historically low vacancy rates on non-rental homes, ranks third in home vacancies and has a declining population.
Nationally, the vacancy rate is 2.7 percent. The rate in Michigan is 3.8 percent, The Detroit News reported.
With a declining population, however, the empty homes are a problem to sell.
"It brings the rest of the neighborhood home values down and makes it tough for others who want to sell down the road," Scott Cummings, president of Mid American Mortgage in Auburn Hills, Mich., told the newspaper.
"That's a very bad sign when those numbers are going up," said Donald Grimes, senior research specialist in economics at the University of Michigan.
"If they stop building homes in Florida," where the population is increasing, Grimes told the News, "they will eventually fill up."
Florida and Nevada are two states that have met up with the housing bubble, after a boom in housing starts in recent years.
Michigan, however, with historically low vacancy rates on non-rental homes, ranks third in home vacancies and has a declining population.
Nationally, the vacancy rate is 2.7 percent. The rate in Michigan is 3.8 percent, The Detroit News reported.
With a declining population, however, the empty homes are a problem to sell.
"It brings the rest of the neighborhood home values down and makes it tough for others who want to sell down the road," Scott Cummings, president of Mid American Mortgage in Auburn Hills, Mich., told the newspaper.
"That's a very bad sign when those numbers are going up," said Donald Grimes, senior research specialist in economics at the University of Michigan.
"If they stop building homes in Florida," where the population is increasing, Grimes told the News, "they will eventually fill up."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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