CLARK COUNTY — There has been a significant jump in the number of vacant homes in Indiana and Clark County over the past decade, according to 2010 U.S. Census figures.

In Clark County, vacant housing units grew to 7.4 percent in 2010 compared to 5.9 percent in 2000. The county’s population increased by 14.3 percent during the same time frame. However, the county remains well below the state’s average of vacant housing units of 10.5 percent, up from 7.7 percent, while the population increase over the same period in Indiana was 6.6 percent

The higher number of vacant units — in the county and across the state — was attributed largely to the economic downturn that has hit the country.



State figures

Statewide, the numbers support the sentiment that the increase in vacant units bears a direct correlation to the economy. The highest levels of vacant homes were reported in areas that have been hardest hit by the economic downturn. Specifically, in Indiana, the regions that saw the greatest spike in vacancies are home to, or dependent upon, the manufacturing and the automotive industries.

According to an Associated Press report, North Central and East Central Indiana showed the highest percentage of unoccupied homes. In Madison County, where General Motors’ former Anderson parts plants closed, more than 7,000 of about 59,000 housing units stood vacant during last year’s Census count, or about 12 percent.

Counties in the state with percentages of vacant homes of more than 15 percent include Brown, Crawford, Carroll, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Owen, Parke, Starke, Stueben, Switzerland and White Counties.

While Clark County was well below the 15 percent vacancy rate, it did not avoid the perils that claimed the homes of thousands across the state.



Charlestown’s vacancies

An area municipality with the among the highest rates of vacant housing units is Charlestown, according to Census figures.

From the 2000 census to the 2010 census, the percentage of vacant housing units increased by more than 3 percentage points, from 5.9 percent to 9 percent. The city experienced a population increase of nearly 1,600 residents and the total number of housing units also grew, from 2,489 to 3,169.

From 2000 to 2010, the number of vacant housing units nearly doubled — from 148 to 285.

Again, the rise in the number of vacant housing units was attributed primarily to the economy.

“I would have to credit 90 percent to the economy,” said Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall. “We’ve had our share of layoffs and foreclosures in our community.”  

And the empty homes are creating another burden for the city.

“It’s created the need for us to do a lot of maintenance on those homes,” said Tony Jackson, Charlestown building commissioner.

He said no group seems to be exempt.

“They can be large homes to starter homes,” Jackson said.

He and Hall said the city is beginning to see a small turnaround and the number of vacant homes in the city should begin to shrink. Work throughout the city, particularly in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood — where a significant number of dilapidated homes are being torn down — should slightly reduce the number of vacant housing units.

But Jackson warned, a major reduction will not happen quickly.

“There’s kind of an issue with the time it takes once someone leaves a home,” he said.

Jackson explained it usually takes a month or two to realize the home is no longer occupied and another couple months for a bank to secure the lien on the home. That is before the home can ever go up on the market to be sold and reoccupied.

Despite the increase in vacant homes in the city, Hall did not take the increase noted in the Census too harshly.

“Ours going up [3 percentage points] is nothing to brag about, but it may be OK when compared to other communities,” he said.

The much-smaller communities of Utica and Borden, at 13.5 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively, had the highest vacancy rates in the county. Jeffersonville’s rate sat at 7.1 percent; Clarksville’s at 6.7 percent; and Sellersburg had a 5.9 percent vacancy rate.

Coupled with the improvements Charlestown has been making to encourage population growth, there is a sense of optimism in the city.

“As far as growth potential ... people are looking at Charlestown for somewhere to live and raise their family,” Hall said. “It enhances the need in my mind to continue to do what we’re doing.”

And Jackson said he feels the figures produced by the Census Bureau might be slightly skewed.

“[It] might be a little high if it included the vacant rental units as well,” he said. “We have a lot of turnover in some areas.”

Even with a sense of optimism, there is a reality that the turnaround will not happen quickly.

Moderate improvements in the national economy also have started to lessen the number of overall vacant homes Jackson said he sees. But like the trending of the national economy, the growth is minimal and slow.

“It’s been [an] ever so slight increase,” he said.

In discussions with contractors, Jackson said the trends that move across the country arrive in Southern Indiana about six to eight months behind what they trend nationally.

“I don’t think we’re at the bottom yet, so I think we’re going to continue to struggle,” Hall said. “It’s going to be a long process.”



County home sales

Home sales figures are starting to show signs of a minor recovery in Clark County.

Suzann Slayton, president and CEO of the Southern Indiana Realtors Association, said the increase cited in the 2010 Census numbers are definitely in regard to foreclosures, but she added home sales are starting to rebound.

Sole listings are up 6.8 percent from January, compared to January 2010, along with a prices increasing during that time 11 percent, she said.

“That’s an indication it is picking up,” Slayton said of the housing market.

She said she was especially encouraged by the increase, because in 2009 and 2010 the numbers may have been inflated because of the federal homebuyer credit programs.

“This is the actual market,” Slayton said. “These figures stand on their own, so to speak.”

But another statistic is showing Slayton the recovery that is coming will be slow.

Of the home sales in January, 40 percent were people purchasing foreclosures, she said. Pricing is so affordable that individuals and investors are purchasing homes that were foreclosures, which are dominating the market.

Slayton said recently there were 2,155 active listings in Clark County and of those listings 720, or about one-third, are foreclosures.

The total number of listings is also slightly on the low side.

“That’s probably down a little bit,” Slayton said. “People that don’t have to sell are waiting until the market recovers.”