Nice bit of info porn via the WSJ, covering the official Census Bureau 2007 vacancy rate.
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click thru for interactive map
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There’s also several audio interviews with economists and professors who cover this subject . . .
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Source:
Housing Markets: A Vacant Look
Matt Phillips, Susan McGregor, Kurt Wilberding
WSJ,
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/retro-VACANCY08.html?mod=djemWEB&reflink=djemWEB
The Northeast and SoCal is surprisingly lower than I imagined.
This is what happens when you build homes that aren’t needed. They were just flipped from investor to investor.
Any of these ranges, even 1% is very high. 1 in 100 homes vacant is unheard of in recent times as the WSJ article suggests.
They forgot to include, Spain, England, Ireland, Austrailia, and Hong Kong????
Kind of reminds me of a an agar filled petri dish in the early stages of bacterial infestation. Fungus growth also is analogous.
To me, a vacancy means a space someone has which isn’t marked to market. Mark the space to market and the vacancy disappears. This isn’t just about people walking out on houses; this is about speculators and landlords clinging to dream world price structures. Oh well, they’ll get it eventually.
Looks like Orlando is hosed.
My father in law lives near Orland so I decided to shop around, maybe there was something I could pick up on the cheap.
Think again prices are still 300% too high in my book.
http://www.realestatebook.com/propertydetails.aspx?hid=536203372&atn=MainDetails
The south and west at least have population inflows to help, if not now then eventually, though places like Florida will take years. The rust bowl may never recover.
Wow! I have been reading the AP news on yahoo, and it looks terrribly dire out there, we might get a “feel good” rally, but this isnt’ going to end well. Fundamentals trump technicals when reality finally sinks in. This isn’t your average Bear….Booboo!
Wondering if its possible that vacancy rates are reported on the low side due to speculators who bought second properties and lied saying they were primary homes to get cheaper financing and tax writeoffs? The California vacancy numbers seem suspiciously low, for one.
Why is it “info porn?”
Barry, I’m just wondering when you gurus are going to take a look at what is really going on, on main street and not inside your studios?????????????
Perhaps then you’ll realize that there is something that trumps, wall street…..and the FED.
JustinTheSkeptic<------what is your point--Do you know something that no one else knows--you have some crystal ball that tell you the future???????? What I find funny is those special people that think they can see into the future are usually the most clueless! But keep up the good work--lol
info porn = cool presentation of interesting data, I believe.
Here in St. Louis, 1.7% may not be high relative to other metro markets, but it sure is high relative to a multi-generational average in the local market. Our inventory of new homes has declined over the past 3 months, but that is primarily because no one is building and some inventory is being liquidated (especially those built by now-defunct builders).
ChangJ, you couldn’t be more correct. Florida was hit the worst; I actually moved there right before the big bubble burst happened and after it happened I moved right back (I was literally there less than 1 year).
Barry, this is a great chart. One look at FL and OH and you know that the bailout train will be cranking up shortly; think incumbency insurance and electoral votes in the mother of all election years. Holy cow. There are other hot spots I know, but none more “electorally pivotal.”