Bob Bryan,  June 30, 2016, There aren't enough homes in America retrieved from The Business Insider 

The supply of houses simply can't keep up with the booming demand, and as we've noted, this is driving up prices and keeping first-time homebuyers out of the market.

There are numerous reasons for the shortage — credit conditions, the rising costs for homebuilders, a construction labor shortage — but there is another, bizarre reason that this new housing crisis is unfolding.

People are leaving a lot of homes sitting empty.

There are also a large number of vacant homes being held off the market for reasons other than occasional use.

The number is a measure of houses sitting vacant for reasons other than being a vacation home or occasional rental. While the percentage as an amount of total stock had been creeping up before the financial crisis, it jumped in the aftermath of the crisis and has stayed elevated since 2010, as can be seen in Capital Economics' chart.

Instead of being a part of the supply of housing for buyers, these homes are sitting empty, unavailable to the buyers who are scrambling to find a house to buy.

We are optimistic for these homes, they can't just sit there empty forever, but that it won't solve the whole crisis.

Here's an assessment: Expect those will slowly trickle back onto the market, helped by higher house prices. That said, we don’t see much prospect of a significant rise in the existing inventory any time soon. Tight credit conditions will prevent some from moving, while low returns on other assets and elevated house price expectations will encourage some of those who do move to keep hold of their previous property." So in addition to the myriad of other issues facing new homebuyers, they have to contend with owners hoarding vacant houses