https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/08/homes/housing-shortage/index.html
The United States is not building enough homes to account for the number of people setting up their own households.
According to the analysis, multi-family properties made up, on average, 32% of housing starts between 2012 and 2021, but grew to 35% in 2022 as mortgage rates spiked and prices in the purchase market led to a pullback in demand for single-family homes. This led builders to pivot to the multi-family market dominated by rentals. Nearly all — 95% — of multi-family units started through the first three quarters of 2022 were intended to be used as rentals. Despite this boost in multi-family buildings, a supply gap persists.
The United States is not building enough homes for the number of people setting up their own households. As a result, there is a sizable shortage of new homes after more than a decade of under-building relative to population growth, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com released Wednesday.
The gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022. However, this figure overstates the housing shortage, since new multi-family homes offer options both to buyers and renters. If multi-family construction is included — which is predominantly rental units — this gap is cut to 2.3 million homes.