Another Good Reason Why It's A Good Time To Buy

From The Wall Street Journal... With spring right around the corner, many housing industry experts are hoping the real estate market will see some noticeable improvements. However, there is one snag that can potentially keep prices down — the large number of vacant homes for sale and rent.

In the third quarter of 2006, there were 5.7 million vacant housing units, accounting for a record 4.6 percent of all U.S. homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The average in the 1990s was about 3.5 percent. To get this ratio back to normal, 1.3 million vacant homes would need to be occupied.

The tendency being that the great amount of empty homes is pushes home prices downward. Owners of un-rented, unsold homes must pay for insurance, lawn service, taxes and, often, a mortgage. Seeing those costs pile up can motivate an owner to sell or rent at much lower prices. When a house sells at a lower price, other would-be buyers expect lower prices as well.

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