Property Tax Vacancies

The Census reports that the total number of vacant housing units in the United States grew by over 4.5 million from 2000 to 2010, a 44% increase. Unsurprisingly, vacant and foreclosed homes are not evenly distributed, but rather are disproportionately found in many older industrial cities, particularly those that have lost much of their population and job base over the past several decades. Boarded houses, abandoned factories, and apartment buildings, and vacant storefronts are a common part of the landscape in large cities like Detroit, Buffalo, and Philadelphia, and a host of smaller cities such as Flint, Gary, and Youngstown. For these cities, counties, and public school districts; they create a lasting double whammy—hammering property tax revenues and imposing significant public safety and other costs on eroded budgets.