SO IS THIS THE HOPE, OR THE CHANGE? Housing market: 13% of all U.S. homes are vacant.

UPDATE: Reader Stephen Siegel writes: “You have to be careful with real estate statistics, especially when the government is involved. In the story you linked, the census bureau includes any home not a primary residence as ‘vacant,’ including beach, mountain, and other vacation homes. That is not a relevant marker when we’re trying to evaluate the state of the housing market. Perhaps it just goes into the category of ‘close enough for government work.'”