[Getting Graphic] Empty And New And More Of Them
Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Sunday, May 4, 2008, 11:25 PM
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Getting Graphic is a semi-sort-of-irregular collection of our favorite BIG real estate-related chart(s).
Click here for full sized graphic.
In the It’s Newer Homes That Stand Empty as Vacancies Rise by Floyd Norris the sharp increase in vacant houses are more heavily weighted toward new construction.
The Census Bureau reported that 2.9 percent of homes intended for owner occupancy were vacant at the end of the first quarter. That figure had begun to rise even during the housing boom, a little-noticed byproduct of the aggressive construction of homes encouraged by easy credit. Before 2006, that figure had never exceeded 2 percent.
The ease of credit combined with limited underwriting resulted in an excessive level of new construction to enter the market. That’s why the rental market is as weak as the sales market in those areas that were characterized by new development. The speculation drove development beyond the level of reasonable absorption causing investor units to enter the market as competitors to existing rentals.
