US home vacancies rise to record 19 million on foreclosures
BOSTON - A RECORD 18.6 million homes in the United States stood empty in the first quarter, as lenders took possession of a growing number of properties in foreclosures.
The figure is 5.7 per cent higher than a year ago, when 17.6 million properties were vacant, the US Census Bureau said in a report on Monday.
The vacancy rate - the share of homes empty and for sale - rose to 2.9 per cent, the highest since the bureau started keeping count in 1956. About 2.3 million empty homes were for sale, compared with 2.2 million a year earlier, the report said.
New foreclosures have risen to an all-time high, led by defaults in adjustable-rate loans to people with poor or limited credit histories, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Home price declines and tougher lending standards are making it difficult for owners who fall behind on their mortgage payments to sell or refinance into better loans.
Falling values are also encouraging buyers to delay purchases in the hope of getting a better deal.
The median US home sale price may drop 5.8 per cent this year, the most on record, followed by another 4.7 per cent decline next year, Fannie Mae, the world's largest mortgage buyer, said on April 7.
'We think it is unlikely that prices will begin to stabilise until vacancy rates start declining,' Mr Jan Hatzius, the chief US economist at Goldman Sachs, said in a report on Monday for clients.
MORE EMPTY NESTS: The declines in home prices and stricter lending standards are making it difficult for owners who fall behind on their mortgage payments to sell or refinance into better loans. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
BLOOMBERG NEWS
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