The U.S. is in the midst of a housing crisis, but there’s still plenty of millions of empty homes.

Indeed, a recent analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey by LendingTree Inc. has unveiled a perplexing phenomenon in the United States — an estimated 5.5 million vacant housing units in the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, amounting to an 8 percent housing vacancy rate, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

This is at a time when the housing market is grappling with dwindling inventory and soaring prices, with the median price of new homes sold in August hovering around $430,300.

The reasons behind the vacancy glut are multifaceted: about 26.6 percent of these homes are empty because they are available for rent, while 17 percent remain vacant as they are used only part-time, like vacation or second homes. Another 8 percent are in a state of repair or renovation.