That mistaken prediction pushed Orlando's rental vacancy rate to 23.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, second only to Dayton, Ohio, among the nation's 75 largest metropolitan areas surveyed by the U.S. Census Department.

MSN: Orlando, Las Vegas top the list of emptiest U.S. cities

The city's 9.4 percent unemployment rate isn't particularly high, but there are thousands of units of deteriorating rental property near the city's center, helping to push the rental vacancy rate to 16 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the Census Department, down from 21 percent at mid-year.

MSN: Orlando, Las Vegas top the list of emptiest U.S. cities