Vacant Homes in U.S. Climb to Most Since 1970s With Ghost Towns

[Purveyor]

Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- When Quinn Cuthbertson looks around his new neighborhood in El Dorado Hills, California, he sees rows of empty homes and barren hillsides. A promised new school and a clubhouse haven't materialized.

Cuthbertson paid $460,000 for a four-bedroom house in this northern California town named for the mythical golden city. He now suspects his neighbor spent $45,000 less. Nearby, 87 of 98 Toll Brothers Inc. home sites are undeveloped.

Almost 200,000 newly constructed single-family homes are sitting empty in the U.S., the most since Commerce Department statistics began in 1973. Partially completed developments reduce revenue for cities and towns and hurt businesses, said Nicolas Retsinas, the director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Rising foreclosures and falling property values may cut tax revenue by more than $6.6 billion for 10 states, including New York, California and Florida, the U.S. Conference of Mayors said in a November report.

``Half-filled developments are an advertisement for a failing housing market,'' said Retsinas, a former assistant secretary for housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ``It also has a spillover effect on the surrounding community.''

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=au67GKPyS_Dg&refer=home

[LSparkle]

1. I remember a ghost development in my town back in the early '70s

It was a weird, world-stood-still place where I learned to drive. (Smart use of the space, frankly.) The houses were probably built in the early '70s and by the time I was using my learner's permit it was '74-'75 and the paint was peeling, no lawns had ever been put in so there were tumbleweeds blowing around. Kind of a spooky place and sadly representative of the economy at the time.

[Warpy]

3. I remember ghost streets then and again in the 80s

of houses started and never finished, window holes open to the elements, tarpaper only on the outside to the rare closed in house, windows broken by punks with rocks.

This time it's going to become whole housing developments of finished housing that used to have people living in it. It's going to start, not in working class areas, but in the McMansion neighborhoods where people finally bought that dream house after trading up for bigger and bigger loans every few years. Every empty house on the street will fall into disrepair and attract vandals, vermin and vagrants, making the neighborhood unlivable for the rest of the people on it. Walking away from it will be the main solution, even if they can still pay the mortgage. There's nothing like a house full of squatters cooking drugs to bring down adjacent property values. Either banks have to be willing to take a loss on a lot of properties, or they're going to have to come up with a solution to keep people in their homes.

[2Design]

4. orlando they are renting them out by the room - many strangers in one

home divided up by bedrooms

[Warpy]

5. That's what they'll have to do with those oversized barns

because it's gotten to the point where one family, even with two earners, can't afford to heat and/or cool it.

[2Design]

6. that is exactly right - I saw it with my apartment when I was in Virginia

two bedrooms normally had two people but as rent went up there were 5 or 6 people to an apartment and they would tell the landlord they were visitors - but they were all living there and when they are above you it is noisy - these homes can not be affordable to normal people - at one time, one income paid for a house - so people decided if they both work they could get a better house - so house prices went up and then it took two incomes to get a house - then house prices went up more - so families moved in together or the family rented out a room - now you have perfect strangers all bunk together - two to a bedroom - and shared living room and kitchen and this has become the normal - college students do it in dorms so going to a house they now feel they have more space - the driveways and neighbors and apartments were not made for this many people and cars in the parking lots and neighborhoods - it is only going to get worse - many internationals are used to living with 10 people to a small apartment - so they think nothing of putting 10 or 20 people to a house -

[mnhtnbb]

2. On the other hand

my son moved into his first home--a new KB Homes townhouse--in Cary, NC today. The place is selling
like crazy. Maybe it has something to do with price? :sarcasm: He bought a 2 BR 2 1/2 BA for about
$119./sq ft and it was custom built for him with his choice of options.

Also, the economy has been decent in Raleigh, although we may soon run out of water due to
extreme drought!