The baggage that comes with vacant homes — higher crime rates and property devaluation — is still getting in the way of urban revival, especially in cities such as Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis, according to a new report.

And, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report, “The Empty House Next Door: Understanding and Reducing Vacancy and Hypervacancy in the United States,” it is not limited to these cities.

Homes that have been abandoned have increased by 2.1 million units nationally, from 3.7 million in 2005 to 5.8 million in 2016, and property tax foreclosure processes, state laws and detrimental banks practices are stopping communities from doing anything about them, the research claims.

The report which analyzes U.S. Census and Postal Service data for 15 legacy cities including San Francisco and Boston, defined the term hypervacancy as when one in five homes sit vacant. The report found that this is now widespread. Cities such as Flint, Michigan, and Gary, Indiana, are suffering from “extreme hypervacancy,” where more than a quarter of units were vacant in each census tract.

In these conditions, “the market effectively ceases to function,” wrote the report author and city planner, Alan Mallach. “Houses sell, if they sell at all, only to investors at rock-bottom prices while the neighborhoods become areas of concentrated poverty, unemployment and health problems.”

In some cities, legal tools including “spot blight” eminent domain, vacant property receivership and land banking have helped communities take control of abandoned properties, but these approaches are not available or being used everywhere.

Nevertheless, there are success stories. The study highlights neighborhoods where cities have converted vacant properties into green space while Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, have made collaborative public-private efforts, doing a combination of demolition with rehabilitation to make refurbished homes available to buyers at affordable prices.

Mallach recommends in the report that cities make more effort to collect better data on vacancies, take steps to remove legal impediments to reuse and “use public strategies” to overcome obstacles to a more “market-driven” reuse of the properties.

Email Gill South.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×