The U.S. home vacancy rate peaked at about 2.9% during the 2008 financial crisis that followed the subprime mortgage collapse.
In the decade leading up to 2008, the vacancy rate averaged 1.9% annually, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In the 10 years following the peak, it averaged 2%.
The home vacancy rate dipped as low as 0.8% in 2022, as extraordinarily low mortgage rates fueled buyer demand during the peak COVID years and pandemic-era supply chain disruptions stunted new-home construction.
But the vacancy rate has yet to recover to historical norms, as evidenced by the latest vacancy and zombie foreclosure report from Attom, a California-based property analytics firm.
About 1.3% of ...