USA Today: No one home: 1 in 9 housing units vacant [View All]

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No one home: 1 in 9 housing units vacant
By Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY


A record 1 in 9 U.S. homes are vacant, a glut created by the housing boom and subsequent collapse.

"The numbers are further documentation of the gravity of the housing problem," says Nicolas Retsinas, head of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. "This inventory is delaying any kind of housing recovery."

The surge in empty houses, condominiums and apartments is creating a wave of problems for communities desperate to shore up property values and tax revenues that pay for services. Vacant homes create upkeep and safety problems that ripple through neighborhoods.

"It has a contagion effect," Retsinas says. "A house that is vacant is often a house that is less well kept up."

A construction frenzy began pushing the vacancy rate up in 2005 but empty homes sold quickly at that time. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-02-12-vacancy12_N.htm?csp=34