Abandoned property in Gary, Indiana, an area hard-hit by the problem of vacant property and blight. | Shutterstock

The housing boom has helped remove significant blight from its post-recession peak Vacant properties have long been a drain on cities across the U.S., bringing down tax revenues and local property values. But a new report by real estate consultancy ATTOM Data Solutions finds that the number of vacant properties nationwide, while still a serious issue, continues to shrink since its peak after the Great Recession.
The company?s Q3 2019 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, which looks at properties that have been abandoned by their previous owners, found that roughly 1,530,563 U.S. single-family homes and condos stood vacant in the third quarter of 2019, representing 1.6 percent of all homes. More than 304,000 homes were in the process of foreclosure during the third quarter of 2019, roughly 22 percent less than at the same time in 2016.
?The blight of vacant, decaying properties facing foreclosure has declined dramatically across the United States, another good-news offshoot of the housing boom that?s gone on for eight years,? said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. ?A handful of areas still face notable problems with homes abandoned by owners after they get hit with foreclosure claims. But with the economy improving and the housing market still hot, an expanding number of neighborhoods across the country face little or...