Tax Hit From Selling May Keep Millions of Homes Vacant: Analysis

A new analysis finds that in some metros, owners can leave homes vacant for more than a decade before selling becomes cheaper.

A view of houses in a neighborhood in Los Angeles on July 5, 2022. Frederic Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Millions of single-family homes may sit vacant in some housing markets because their owners have concluded that selling them would trigger a bigger tax bill than simply holding on to the property, a new analysis suggests.

In an April report, real estate investment firm Flock Homes looked at so-called “zombie homes,” or vacant properties whose owners have chosen not to sell or rent them out.