America’s housing woes get blamed on many sources. Some people say “it’s the greedy developers,” others say, “it’s the gentrifiers,” and still others say, “it’s the Blackstones and institutional investors.” But an increasingly common conspiracy theory is that America’s housing woes are the result of 15 million vacant homes.
The idea goes, in part, that investors, banks, government, and other powerful actors are intentionally leaving homes vacant to inflate prices, and that those units could be put to use nearly right away if we wanted to solve homelessness and affordability challenges. Ray Delahanty of CityNerd, however, debunks this popular conspiracy with data, explaining why America doesn’t have anywhere close to 15 million homes readily available to fill the national housing shortage.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.