The Nation’s Vacant Homes Present an Opportunity – and a Problem
Industry Update
November 22, 2022
Source: pewtrusts.org
With construction costs for new homes and interest rates soaring, vacant housing is drawing more attention as a shortcut to quickly getting more units on the market.
But whether vacant homes are a curse or an opportunity depends on where you live.
As housing affordability plummets and rents rise, putting more families with low incomes at risk of losing their homes, some cities are working to take advantage of unused properties. But there often is a mismatch between the location and condition of vacant homes and where they are most needed: Those in Appalachia might be run-down and in no shape for rehabilitation. Vacant homes in luxurious locales from New Orleans to New England are the second homes of the nation’s elite.
And Americans living in motels, in their cars or on the streets often aren’t in the same states — or even the same time zones — as the vacant houses that could be repaired and offered as shelter.
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