<- Blogs Posted on 01/20/2010


by Mark Salling, Ph.D., 1/19/10

The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have seen a significant rise in foreclosures. Clearly, families are losing their homes at a rapid rate.

So where are families going when they have to leave the houses they were trying to buy? Speculation includes: (1) they are moving away from the county, region, or state; (2) they are moving in with relatives or friends; and (3) they are moving into rental units.

A brief analysis by Community Solutions provides some data that suggest that many displaced families have turned to the rental market. That analysis uses data from the 2000 Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) for years 2005 through 2008 to show vacancy rates in the rental and owner unit markets in the county and city. (Find the report HERE.

For both the county and city “for sale” rates rose precipitously from 2000 to 2006, and leveled-off or increased slightly through 2008. Meanwhile, though estimated “for rent” rates rose significantly from 2000 to 2005, they apparently declined from 2005 through 2008.

These findings suggest a series of other, related questions: What is happening to rents in the city and suburbs? How is this displacement affecting school enrollments? How many single family homes are being rented rather than sold in order to wait-out the depressed housing market? What neighborhoods are being affected most by these changes in housing?

The 2010 Census and the continuing ACS will provide data that should help us understand the consequences of current and future economic trends.