Vacant Homes

Aerial view of homes with downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin in background

Milwaukee Selects Developers to Rehab Vacant Homes

A record 66 developers applied to refurbish 150 vacant, city-owned homes.

September 14, 2022 - Urban Milwaukee

Toronto

Vacancy Tax Considered in Toronto

Owning a home with no one living in it could soon come with a penalty in Toronto.

July 5, 2021 - The Star

Vancouver Skyline Bikes

Vancouver Again Raises its Empty Homes Tax

The Vancouver Empty Homes Tax will soon be three times as high as it was when adopted in 2017.

November 29, 2020 - CTV News Vancouver

Empty Homes

Vacancy Taxes as a Response to the Housing Crisis

Could vacancy taxes solve multiple housing challenges at once?

January 30, 2020 - WBUR

Central Waterfront Toronto

Two Perspectives on Surging Canadian Housing Costs

Real estate prices in Toronto and Vancouver continue to rise, but there is not consensus about what is behind the growing housing crisis and the best solutions to pursue.

December 20, 2019 - The Star

Detroit Vacant Properties

Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties

Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.

August 31, 2019 - Urban Institute

British Columbia

Luxury Condos for Sale in Vancouver as Non-Resident Owners Balk at New Taxes

A tax on non-resident property owners is working as it's intended, as a wave of luxury condo units hit the real estate market all over the city of Vancouver.

August 24, 2019 - The Province

Vancouver Skyline

Vancouver's Homeowner Vacancy Rate Nearly 5 Percent

Thousands of homes in the city were found to be underused and subject to a vacancy tax.

March 22, 2018 - The Guardian

Paris Trees

Paris Targets Vacant Second Homes With 60% Tax

7.5 percent of homes in the French capital have no one living in them.

March 31, 2017 - Better Dwelling

Detroit Vacant

'Vacant Home Tour' Reimagines Blight

It's not your typical walking tour: A resident-led project in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania explores the history of a community through its blighted properties.

June 2, 2016 - Community Progress Blog

4 abandoned homes in St. Louis's Greater Ville neighborhood

Why Did a 'Mysterious' Company Buy Hundreds of Properties in St. Louis?

Over the course of a year beginning in June 2008, a 'mysterious holding company' named Urban Assets bought 240 parcels across a five-mile swath of the north side of St. Louis. Since then, it's just let them decay.

August 28, 2013 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Can a Dollar and a Dream Bring Back Gary, Indiana?

Just south of Chicago, the city of Gary is suffering from post-industrial blight, decaying infrastructure, and declining finances - an all too common trajectory in the Rust Belt. A program selling vacant homes for $1 hopes to stabilize neighborhoods.

August 15, 2013 - The New York Times

Can Algorithms Expedite the Activation of Vacant Properties?

With thousands of abandoned homes located in neighborhoods of varying shape and character, Chicago has a massive challenge in returning its vacant properties to active use. Can algorithms help leaders decide on the right solutions?

July 23, 2013 - Next City

Federal Funds Intended to Help Homeowners Will Instead Fund Demolitions

Federal money earmarked to help prevent foreclosures and assist underwater homeowners will instead be used to fund housing demolitions in a $100 million pilot project in five Michigan cities.

June 10, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Vacant Homes Plague D.C. Suburbs

Even in the Washington D.C. region, which survived the Great Recession with one of the strongest economies in the country, foreclosed and vacant homes are a stubborn presence in many neighborhoods, including affluent ones.

January 15, 2013 - The Washington Post

Squatting on the Rise in Detroit

With more than 100,000 empty homes within the city of Detroit, squatters are increasingly moving in.

August 25, 2011 - The Detroit News

I See Ghost Counties

Jan Willem Tulp created a stunning visualization showing the relationship between number of vacant homes in U.S. counties and the total number of homes in that county.

May 24, 2011 - Datavisualization.ch

One Year Down, 3,000 Homes Demolished

Officials in Detroit have demolished 3,000 buildings over the course of the last year, a goal set by Mayor Dave Bing.

May 5, 2011 - Associated Press

Metros Still Struggling With Vacancies

Housing vacancies are still rising in many American metropolitan areas.

August 4, 2009 - Forbes

Whither Vacant Buildings?

Officials in Fort Worth, Texas, are searching for ways to deal with buildings left vacant by businesses struggling during the recession. Other cities and the state of Texas are also addressing the issue.

April 7, 2009 - Fort Worth Star Telegram

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