What the 14.5 million vacant homes figure actually means for your buyers
“I think all of it is just reason number 500 why a lot of people are waiting and just kind of saying, well, maybe now just isn’t the time,” he said. “Obviously a lot of factors go into when people choose to buy or sell. And a lot of times you don’t have a choice as to when you do it. But for those who do, this is another reason why they may say I think I’m going to wait a little bit.”
The one data point that offers some encouragement is that the national vacancy rate fell by 0.31% between 2023 and 2024. While that doesn’t sound like a large number, it equated to approximately 302,000 fewer vacant units. At a time when rates were elevated, more than 300,000 homes becoming occupied is good news, Schulz said.
“That’s not nothing,” he said. “It’s not anything that is going to change the game, but with the housing market being stuck the way it is for quite some time, we’ll take the good news as we can and hope that this continues going forward.”
The price of inventory shortages
The difference in home prices between low-vacancy and high-vacancy areas is $167,678, according to the report. In the states with the tightest inventory, including Connecticut, Washington, and California, the average median home value is $435,118, compared with $267,440 in states where vacancy rates are highest.
Schulz said the gap reinforces something brokers already know but that the data quantifies more sharply than most people expect.
