Miami has one of the highest home vacancy rates in US, study shows
MIAMI — Despite the housing crisis facing South Floridians, Miami still has one of the highest vacancy rates in the U.S., according to a new study.
According to the online lending marketplace LendingTree, the Miami metro area has the second-highest vacancy rate in the country at 12.65%, with 339,451 homes vacant out of the 2,683,497 total units. Miami's vacancy rate is over 5 percentage points the average across 50 of the largest metro areas at 7.22%. Meanwhile, New Orleans is in first-overall with rate of 13.88% and Tampa is just behind Miami at 12.15%.
However, this doesn't mean a ton of homes are abandoned and dilapidated in these areas. According to LendingTree, vacant homes can or usually be unoccupied for various reasons beyond being uninhabitable. For example, a home can be vacant because it's still on the market to be sold or rented out, or because it's a vacation home that's not in full-time use.
In a simplified version of the housing market, vacancy rates should have a "strong inverse relationship" to home and rent prices, LendingTree stated. In other words, high vacancy rates should signify a lack of buyer or renter demand, resulting in a larger supply of homes on the market and lower prices. Additionally, the inverse should also be true in that a lower vacancy rate should mean there's a stronger demand, less supply and higher prices.
However, with the high housing prices, it may seem strange that so many homes across the largest metro areas in the U.S. are empty. Because of this, an area's overall vacancy rates can't fully explain why homes are so expensive, LendingTree stated. But, it doesn't mean that understanding an area's vacancy rate can't help shed light on how an area's housing market is fairing, the marketplace added.
For example, if both vacancy rates and prices are low, it could mean that sellers are parting with their homes for less money than they could have possibly received. But, if rates are low and prices are high, it could mean that the market is competitive and that lower-income consumers might have problems finding a home, LendingTree said. On the flip side, high rates and prices can suggest that an area has "unique characteristics" such as being a vacation hotspot or targeted by investors. Meanwhile, high rates and low prices might suggest an area is facing socio-economic hardships, the marketplace stated.
Back in August, mortgage rates reached their highest levels in 20 years, giving many first-time buyers in South Florida are hard time in finding a home. Meanwhile, after nine months of leading metro areas across the country in year-over-year home price increases, Miami fell out of the top spot, according to a July survey.
Despite a cooling rental market, the Miami metro area remains as the fifth-most expensive in the country, according to Zumper's September 2023 National Rent Report, and the South Florida rental market in general has been especially tough on renters for a while. According to one WalletHub study, the cities of Hialeah, Miami and Fort Lauderdale were ranked as some of the least affordable housing markets in the country and a Florida Atlantic University joint report from June showed that the average renter in Miami has to make at least a six-figure salary to avoid being considered "rent burdened."