Floridaโ Cities Dominate Nation’s List ofโฃ Highest Housing Vacancyโ Rates
CAPE CORAL, FL – Six of theโ largest metropolitanโข areas in Florida are experiencing significantly โhigher housing vacancy rates than the national average, according to a new study byโค Lance Surety Bonds. The analysis, released today, reveals a concerning trend in the state’s housing market, despiteโ recent declines in some areas.
Cape Coral and Fortโฃ Myers lead the nation โคwithโ a 38.7% vacancy rate, followedโ closely by North Port-Bradenton–Sarasota at 23.7%. Tampa-St. Petersburg-clearwater ranks third nationally with 13.3% of homes vacant, with Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford โ(9.5%)โฃ andโค jacksonville โฃ(8.6%) alsoโฃ appearing in the top ten.
The study,โค which compared the 75 largest population areasโ in the U.S., utilized dataโข from the โU.S. Census Bureau and CommercialEdge.
While most Florida markets struggled with vacancies, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota showedโข positive movement. Orlando experienced aโข 10 percentage point drop in vacancies between 2018 and 2023, whileโข the Sarasota areaโ saw a 7.8 percentage point โdecrease.
“These drops could indicate increasing demand for housing, new residents moving in, or stronger local economies,” the Lance Surety Bonds study concluded.
Worcester, Massachusetts, โคreported the lowestโ vacancy rate in the country at 3.6%, with Grand Rapids, Michigan, and San Jose, California, also demonstrating โขlimited home vacancies.
the analysis also highlighted challenges in Florida’s commercial real estate sector. โOrlando ranked 18th nationally for commercial office vacancies (16.7%), followedโ by Tampa (15.9%) โคand Miami (15.6%).
