“I dance like people wish they weren't watching.” Someone sure is watching, and counting, empty houses. Lack of available housing inventory has helped keep housing costs high throughout many of the nation’s big cities, but nearly 5.5 million homes sit vacant across the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas. The average vacancy rate across these 50 metros is 7.22 percent, with New Orleans (13.9 percent), Miami (12.7 percent), and Tampa (12.2 percent) having the highest vacancy rates. Vacancy rates are lowest in Minneapolis, Austin, and Washington, D.C., the only metros in the study with vacancy rates below 5 percent. Just because an area has a high vacancy rate doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s something wrong with its housing market. Roughly one-quarter of vacancies are due to being empty for rent, one-fifth because they're only used part time, and one-twelfth because they're being repaired or renovated. (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s is sponsored by NotaryCam, your partner for The Perfect Close! Ease of use, additional closing compliance, better borrower experience, reduced timelines, and cost savings, what is stopping you from getting on the RON train with NotaryCam? Listen to an interview with Curinos’ John Sayre on key data points from the residential lending markets and how lenders are utilizing that data to make more informed decisions.) Lender and Broker Software and Services “If you’ve got buyers who need just a little more cash, get to know Down Payment Resource and its nationwide database of down payment assistance (DPA) programs for FTHBs, repeat buyers, teachers and first responders to name a few. At MBA Annual, catch DPR’s Rob Chrane on a panel with loan Depot’s Mosi Gatling, FormFree’s Christy Moss, iEmergent’s Laird Nossuli and Movement Mortgage’s Montell Watson to explore DPA’s role in reaching mortgage-ready borrowers (Tues. 10/17 @ 3 pm). Need more now? Schedule a meeting with us at Annual or download this case study on how Gatling produces nine figures working with the Nevada Rural Housing Authority to assist first-time, military and low-income buyers.” (STRATMOR’s current blog is titled, “Mind the Down Payment.”)