More Than 300,000 Empty Lots For Sale Could Close America's Housing Shortage by 6%
Building one home on each empty lot listed for sale on Zillow would reduce the national housing deficit to 4.44 million homes.
Written by Kara Ng on July 21, 2026
Key findings
- The housing shortage of 4.7 million homes is the key driver of America’s housing affordability crisis.
- 300,242 empty lots smaller than five acres were listed for sale on Zillow in June 2026, representing 17.4% of all for-sale listings.
- Building one home on each of those lots would reduce America's housing deficit by 6.3%.
More than 300,000 empty lots five acres or smaller were listed for sale on Zillow in June, making up 17.4% of all for-sale listings. Building just one home on each of those lots would bring the total housing deficit down to roughly 4.44 million homes, a 6.3% reduction from the latest estimate. These lots represent the lowest-hanging fruit in addressing a housing shortage that has been building for nearly two decades, and is the root cause of America's housing affordability crisis.
The typical lot for sale is 0.57 acres, making it large enough, in many cases, to support more than one home. That means the 6.3% figure is likely a conservative estimate.
The challenge is making it feasible to build. Policies that loosen zoning rules, streamline permitting or expand access to financing would help reduce the cost and uncertainty that hold construction back.
Where the empty lots are
The five states with the most empty lots listed are Florida (42,598), Texas (40,907), California (18,504), North Carolina (14,230) and Georgia (10,336). In states like North Dakota, South Dakota and Alaska, empty lots make up more than a third of all for-sale listings — 46%, 38.6% and 34.6%, respectively.
Rural markets have the highest concentration of empty lots, at 25.3% of all for-sale listings, compared to 13.6% in the suburbs and 9% in urban areas. Rural lots are also the least expensive on a per acre basis with a median of roughly $75,000 per acre, compared to more than $181,000 per acre in suburban areas and about $500,000 per acre for urban lots.
| State | Empty lots listed for sale (June 2026) | Share of listings that were empty lots (June 2026) | Median acreage | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 300,242 | 17.4% | 0.57 | $79,000 |
| Alabama | 7,654 | 20.2% | 0.75 | $70,900 |
| Alaska | 1,130 | 34.6% | 1.24 | $90,000 |
| Arizona | 8,132 | 16.2% | 1.03 | $90,000 |
| Arkansas | 6,603 | 25.1% | 0.50 | $38,000 |
| California | 18,504 | 16.9% | 0.62 | $73,000 |
| Colorado | 6,284 | 13.9% | 0.97 | $125,000 |
| Connecticut | 425 | 7.6% | 1.26 | $150,000 |
| Delaware | 462 | 9.2% | 0.75 | $252,500 |
| Florida | 42,598 | 18.1% | 0.26 | $49,000 |
| Georgia | 10,336 | 14.1% | 1.00 | $84,900 |
| Hawaii | 1,411 | 16.9% | 1.00 | $100,000 |
| Idaho | 3,177 | 19.3% | 0.99 | $215,000 |
| Illinois | 6,670 | 22.3% | 0.43 | $49,900 |
| Indiana | 4,126 | 15.0% | 0.43 | $69,900 |
| Iowa | 4,146 | 25.0% | 0.39 | $85,900 |
| Kansas | 2,015 | 19.4% | 0.44 | $58,500 |
| Kentucky | 4,369 | 20.2% | 0.87 | $49,900 |
| Louisiana | 9,169 | 29.5% | 0.50 | $68,000 |
| Maine | 1,230 | 15.7% | 1.80 | $94,900 |
| Maryland | 1,675 | 8.7% | 0.75 | $125,000 |
| Massachusetts | 847 | 6.3% | 1.18 | $225,000 |
| Michigan | 8,598 | 21.5% | 0.59 | $55,000 |
| Minnesota | 4,962 | 19.3% | 0.58 | $85,000 |
| Mississippi | 4,271 | 24.7% | 0.69 | $53,640 |
| Missouri | 5,628 | 18.6% | 0.51 | $60,000 |
| Montana | 2,391 | 21.3% | 0.84 | $195,000 |
| Nebraska | 2,773 | 30.4% | 0.27 | $79,970 |
| Nevada | 2,870 | 15.5% | 0.72 | $69,000 |
| New Hampshire | 573 | 12.6% | 1.22 | $129,000 |
| New Jersey | 1,354 | 6.6% | 0.49 | $209,450 |
| New Mexico | 4,292 | 30.3% | 1.00 | $50,000 |
| New York | 3,552 | 8.1% | 0.78 | $99,900 |
| North Carolina | 14,230 | 18.2% | 1.02 | $79,900 |
| North Dakota | 2,028 | 46.0% | 0.40 | $70,000 |
| Ohio | 4,311 | 13.0% | 0.46 | $74,900 |
| Oklahoma | 5,722 | 19.9% | 0.84 | $59,900 |
| Oregon | 3,747 | 16.1% | 0.51 | $159,125 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,514 | 18.3% | 0.39 | $49,299 |
| Rhode Island | 159 | 9.0% | 0.86 | $325,000 |
| South Carolina | 5,545 | 12.2% | 0.77 | $95,000 |
| South Dakota | 2,464 | 38.6% | 0.50 | $100,000 |
| Tennessee | 9,747 | 17.9% | 0.85 | $74,900 |
| Texas | 40,907 | 16.2% | 0.51 | $97,000 |
| Utah | 3,552 | 15.7% | 0.67 | $284,380 |
| Vermont | 381 | 11.7% | 1.71 | $124,450 |
| Virginia | 4,841 | 14.9% | 1.00 | $74,500 |
| Washington | 5,561 | 13.9% | 0.50 | $180,000 |
| West Virginia | 1,684 | 26.2% | 0.94 | $41,700 |
| Wisconsin | 5,372 | 23.8% | 0.64 | $84,900 |
| Wyoming | 1,166 | 24.5% | 0.54 | $110,000 |
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