Nearly 15 Million Homes Are Vacant in the U.S. — Here's Where Most Are [New LendingTree Study]

Home vacancy rates reveal more than just empty houses — they offer a window into the overall health of the housing market. High vacancy rates can indicate oversupply or declining demand, which could lead to lower property values and slower economic growth. 

Our new study dives into the latest housing data to look at vacancy rates and home values across the country and by state. Here's what we found. 

• Maine, Vermont and Alaska have the highest vacancy rates. Vacancy rates in these states are 21.09%, 20.06% and 18.24%, respectively. These states account for nearly 285,000 vacant homes combined. 
• Washington, Oregon and Connecticut have the lowest vacancy rates. The vacancy rate is 7.42% in Washington. Oregon (7.46%) and Connecticut (7.54%) follow closely. Despite the lower rates, these states collectively have over 495,000 vacant homes.
• Vacancy rates are down in every state but Washington. Vacancy rates in the U.S. fell 0.36 percentage points between 2022 and 2023. 
• States with low vacancy rates have significantly higher median home values than states with high vacancy rates. Across the 10 states with the lowest vacancy rates, the median home values average $408,382. Meanwhile, median home values average $247,850 in the 10 with the highest vacancy rates. 

You can check out the full report here: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/vacancy-rates-study/

LendingTree's Chief Consumer Finance Analyst, Matt Schulz, had this to say:

"This doesn’t meant that millions of abandoned and dilapidated homes are littering the streets of America’s biggest cities. These homes may have been sold and just waiting for their new owner to move in or they may be seasonal rental properties, for example. However, there’s a balance that needs to be struck. Too few vacancies make a challenging market for renters, but too many could mean declining demand and slower economic growth.”