1.6% vacancy a boon for sellers

Momentum of low vacancy rates on the second month of 2016 to last for most of the year, analysts said

It’s a season of plenty for home sellers in the United States as vacancy nationwide sat at an average of 1.6% by the first day of February, which could apply upward pressure on home prices and promote further market recovery, the latest data from a housing research firm revealed.
 
Figures from RealtyTrac, which were culled from studies of 147 metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 homes, showed that the regions with the lowest vacancy rates are situated at Silicon Valley and various resort locales in Utah, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
 
“Metro areas with the lowest share of vacant properties were San Jose, California (0.2 percent), Fort Collins, Colorado (0.2 percent), Manchester, New Hampshire (0.3 percent), Provo, Utah (0.3 percent), Lancaster, Pennsylvania (0.3 percent), and San Francisco (0.3 percent),” the report said, as quoted by 24/7 Wall Street.
 
“Other major metro areas with vacancy rates below the national average included San Francisco (0.3 percent), Los Angeles (0.4 percent), Boston (0.5 percent), Denver (0.5 percent), and Washington, D.C. (0.5 percent),” the report added.
 
Meanwhile, the regions with the highest vacancy were those hit hardest by the dramatic decline in car manufacturing and other related fabrication industries. This severe downturn greatly affected per capita purchasing power in these locales.
 
“Those with the highest share of vacant properties were Flint, Michigan (7.5 percent), Detroit (5.3 percent), Youngstown, Ohio (4.4 percent), Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (3.8 percent), and Atlantic City, New Jersey (3.7 percent),” according to the report.
 
“Other major metro areas with vacancy rates above the national average included Indianapolis (3.0 percent), Tampa (2.9 percent), Miami (2.8 percent), Cleveland (2.8 percent), and St. Louis (2.6 percent),” the report said.