TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa's housing market is a tough one — home prices continue to rise and while demand has tapered off a little, there's still not enough supply to meet demand, keeping those prices high. Couple that with an ongoing home insurance crisis, it's hard to find a home that you can afford.
Now, a recent study shows the Tampa metro has one of the highest vacancy rates in the country — adding to the lack of supply for potential homebuyers.
At the beginning of October, LendingTree released an analysis of the top metros across the United States and the vacancy rate each had. Across the nation's largest metropolitan areas, there are nearly 5.5 million homes sitting vacant.
This doesn't mean they are all abandoned or dilapidated — in fact, most vacant homes aren't either. A couple of reasons why a home is listed as vacant include being on the market and still waiting to be sold or rented or because it's a vacation home not being used.
The study showed New Orleans, Miami and Tampa have the highest vacancy rates in the country. Tampa ranks third and has a 12.15 percent vacancy rate; the average across the Top 50 metros is 7.22 percent, for comparison.
Diving further into the numbers LendingTree released, here's what Tampa's vacancy status look like:
- Total housing units: 1,512,833
- Vacant housing units: 183,758
- Vacancy rate: 12.15%
- Most common reason for vacancy: Housing unit is for seasonal, recreational or occasional use
- Share of vacant housing units empty for most common vacancy reason: 43.89%
- Median home value: $344,400
- Median gross rent: $1,477
For more information about this study or to look at other metro areas, click here.
