The numbers right now aren’t good when it comes to the housing industry. Just look at the local numbers: Home sales in the city of Chicago came in at 20,589 in 2008, down a significant 25.1 percent from one year earlier. The median sales price of homes in Chicago stood at $290,000 last year, a smaller drop of 0.5 percent from 2007.
Nationally, of course, the numbers are no better.
Then comes this piece of news from the USA Today: A record one out of every nine U.S. homes is now vacant.
A large number of vacant homes is a sure sign that the housing industry is still in the midst of a serious slump. Homebuilders built too many residences during the housing boom. Now there are simply too many homes available. With more people choosing to rent, and others no longer qualifying for mortgage loans, there aren't enough buyers to fill in all these empty residences.
As the USA Today story points out, the number of empty houses is a serious problem. By having so much housing inventory still on the market, there is no incentive for buyers to pay more for homes. After all, if one seller is asking too much, there's always another trying to unload an empty home at a less expensive price.
At the same time, empty houses and condominium units cause problems for communities. Homes that remain empty for months tend to turn into eyesores. They also seem to attract trouble.
According to the USA Today story, the U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that more than 14 million housing units – a figure that doesn’t count seasonal or vacation homes -- are now vacant. Overall, the combined housing vacancy rate is almost 15 percent, a figure that is higher than the 11 percent vacancy rate the country saw in the recession of 1991 and the 9.4 percent rate it suffered through during the 1984 recession.
The USA Today story also reports that 9 percent of homes built since 2000 are vacant, additional proof that homebuilders overdid it during the housing boom.
There might be some help coming from the federal government. The economic stimulus bill now being debated by Congress contains $2 billion set aside to help communities buy and fix foreclosed and vacant properties.
In the meantime, I advise clients trying to sell empty homes to consider hiring a stager who can fill that home with enough furniture and artwork to make it look warm and inviting. The problem with trying to sell an empty home is that it often looks exactly the opposite, cold and uninviting.
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