Housing Occupancy Down Across U.S.

The new report from Tufts University and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy also shows that occupancy is rebounding in some areas because of increases in rental housing.

"Occupied housing has declined in about a third of ZIP codes since 2009. From 2000 to 2006, before the recession hit, there were 26% fewer postal areas that experienced an increase in vacant homes.

Suburban areas, where most new residential development was concentrated during the real estate boom, were hit hard: The number of ZIP codes in the suburbs that suffered drops in occupancy grew the most in the latter half of the decade."