New Census Bureau data shows Bakersfield has the eighth lowest housing vacancy rate among the nation’s largest cities.

Stephen Pelz with the Housing Authority of Kern says new home construction has never returned to the level we saw before the mortgage meltdown in 2008 and people do not have enough money to make a move from their current homes.

The figure for Bakersfield is 3.4 percent. Santa Ana, San Jose, and Anaheim have lower rates among large California cities.

Chuck Alan