djc
04-28-2008, 01:35 PM
Vacancy rate climbs to 2.9 percent; western states hit 7 percent
WASHINGTON - The percentage of vacant homes for sale in the U.S. set a new record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday.
The Census Bureau report shows that shows that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes — excluding rental properties — were vacant and up for sale, compared with 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. It was the highest quarterly number in records going back to 1956.
That works out to 2.28 million properties, up from 2.18 million in the same quarter last year, according to the report.
The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among homeowners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South. The national vacancy rate, including new and existing homes, has been steadily rising since mid-2005.
Global Insight economist Patrick Newport called the report “worrisome.”
“The inventory problem has not gotten any better,” Newport said. Although glut-fighting home builders have reined in construction, “they still will have to cut back more.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24352014/
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WASHINGTON - The percentage of vacant homes for sale in the U.S. set a new record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday.
The Census Bureau report shows that shows that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes — excluding rental properties — were vacant and up for sale, compared with 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. It was the highest quarterly number in records going back to 1956.
That works out to 2.28 million properties, up from 2.18 million in the same quarter last year, according to the report.
The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among homeowners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South. The national vacancy rate, including new and existing homes, has been steadily rising since mid-2005.
Global Insight economist Patrick Newport called the report “worrisome.”
“The inventory problem has not gotten any better,” Newport said. Although glut-fighting home builders have reined in construction, “they still will have to cut back more.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24352014/
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