Dallas Ranks 38th Nationally For Home Vacancies

Dallas has fewer home vacancies than the national average, the Dallas Fed announced a new hire, and the Inclusive Communities Project is hosting a Latino Urbanism discussion.

We have the details in this week’s roundup of real estate news.

Dallas Ranks 38th Nationally For Home Vacancies

When it comes to unoccupied homes, Dallas is definitely not at the top of a national ranking. In fact, the city is closer to the bottom.

A recent analysis by online mortgage marketplace LendingTree revealed that  San Jose, California; Minneapolis; and Denver are at the bottom of the list with the lowest vacancy rates in the nation, at 4.26 percent, 4.96 percent, and 5.35 percent, respectively.

Miami; Orlando, Florida; and Tampa, Florida were at the top of the list, with the highest vacancy rates in nation at 17.09 percent, 15.93 percent, and 15.24 percent, respectively.  The national average is 9.44 percent.

Dallas ranked 38th on the list of 50, with a vacancy rate well below the national average at 7.48 percent.

“One of the main reasons vacancy rates are so high in these areas is that Florida is a popular destination for home owners to buy secondary residences,” LendingTree said. “These types of residences often remain unused throughout most of the year, with their owners only living in them during select times, like winter. This means they count as vacant in our data.”

LendingTree said househunters should look at vacancy rates in the area they’re looking at, because that can have a bearing on how much will need to go to a down payment, how large a mortgage they’ll need, and how much they can sell their current home for.

Economist Lutz Kilian Joins Dallas Fed

Noted energy economist Lutz Kilian will join the Dallas Fed as senior economic policy advisor, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas announced last week. He will start work on July 29.

Kilian is currently professor of economics at the University of Michigan.

“Lutz Kilian is one of the most pre-eminent economists globally working in the fields of energy economics and macroeconomics,” said Dallas Fed president and CEO Rob Kaplan. “Lutz’s arrival will be a significant step toward strengthening our research excellence and thought leadership in energy economics. He is a leading expert on the relationship between oil markets and the broader economy. He will be a great asset to the Dallas Fed and the Federal Reserve System.”

Kilian received his doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and has served as an adviser to the European Central Bank, and has been a research visitor and consultant to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and International Monetary Fund.

He has also served as a consultant to the World Trade Organization, the Bank of Canada, European Parliament, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and has published more than 90 research articles. He is also the co-author of an econometrics textbook, and is one of the most cited energy economists in the world.

Inclusive Communities Project To Host Latino Urbanism Discussion