According to latest government figures, the number of untenanted homes for sale went up from July to September. That demonstrates just how weak the housing market really is at the moment. The latest Census reports put the number of deserted houses at well over two million, an increase of around two percent from the previous quarter and fully seven percent beyond what it was twelve months ago.

The figure is down 5 percent from the record high reading reached in the first quarter, though. For point of comparison for the present state of affairs, imagine the Detroit metropolitan area, which the Census Bureau estimated had 2.08 million homes in its 2000 Census. Now picture almost every residence or condo empty, with a for sale symbol in the face yard of every house, from inner-city Detroit to its suburbs, all the way to nearby cities such as Flint and Ann Arbor.

There are forever some homes vacant and for sale, even in a thriving real estate market. But the mixture of overbuilding by home builders in the middle of the decade and evils in mortgage markets this year that made it more tricky for buyers to get the funding they needed to purchase a home has puffed up the inventory of available homes on the marketplace.

Many home owners have had to move from their homes before selling due to the condensation for the finance market thinning the position of home buyers. Another consequence of this condensation is being felt by those who invested in homes and/or condos during real estate and building booms - they are now finding a weak market for these possessions.

That has caused a 57 percent increase in homes for sale that are not being lived in, all within the past three years. Many foresee the situation only getting worse. To help families be able to stay in their residences, some are offering properties for rent back.

There are some specialists that offer sell and rent back options on the web such as: cash for houses, quick house sell, and home sell and rent back. If you are interested in buying homes for sale the web would be a smart place to start your search. You can also define your search by either single family homes or multifamily properties.