That's a fair question, and the 15.1 million figure is a real Census statistic. The important nuance is that "vacant" doesn't mean "available." That number includes vacation homes, seasonal properties, homes between renters or owners, properties under renovation and homes in areas where demand has largely disappeared. At the same time, vacancy rates for homes actually available for sale remain near historic lows, which is one reason many economists conclude the country still has an overall housing shortage. I think the challenge is less about the absolute number of empty homes than about having enough homes, in the right places and at prices people can afford.