Chattanooga has 4,483 ‘zombie homes,’ vacancy rate 60 percent above U.S. average

New townhomes are seen in the Brookside Commons subdivision in East Brainerd on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. New home starts are up about 9 percent over last year in the first quarter. New townhomes are seen in the Brookside Commons subdivision in East Brainerd on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. New home starts are up about 9 percent over last year in the first quarter.

By Dave Flessner October 30, 2018 3 min read

States with highest home vacancies

1. Tennessee, 2.65 percent2. Kansas, 2.5 percent3. Oklahoma, 2.49 percent4. Mississippi, 2.47 percent5. Indiana, 2.45 percentSource: ATTOM Data Solutions

Chattanooga homes are selling as fast as they have in decades, but some of the outside investors buying into the market are finding that renovating and renting residential properties can take some time, keeping vacancy rates here above the U.S. average.

The share of vacant homes in Chattanooga rose in the past year and was more than 60 percent above the U.S. average, according to a study of property listings by ATTOM Data Solutions released Tuesday. The study found Tennessee had the highest vacancy rate for single-family homes, condos and townhomes of any state, primarily due to vacancies among properties owned by investors and used as rental homes. The vacancy rate in Memphis, the highest in Tennessee, was double the U.S. average.

Chattanooga ranked in the top 20 percent of all U.S. cities in its share of vacant homes. In metro Chattanooga, 4,483 homes are vacant, or 2.44 percent of all households. That’s up from 4,002, or 2.25 percent of all homes, in 2017.

Daren Blomquist, senior vice president for ATTOM, said 84 percent of the home vacancies in Tennessee are rental properties.