A new report has found that the housing gap has not improved in recent years, as the nation is facing a housing shortage of nearly 4 million homes.
The latest report on the housing shortage crisis comes from Realtor.com, which highlighted that despite new home construction being up for the first time since 2016 last year, the country is still seeing a shortfall of around 3.8 million homes.
To compile its report, the real estate company used data on new home construction, household formations, and housing demand.
The report highlighted the positives in the crisis, like more than 1.6 million homes being completed in 2024, the highest level in almost 20 years.
Still, the report says that despite progress, the gap “persisted due to the magnitude of the historical gap and ongoing pent-up household demand.”
Inventory in 2024, which included both new and existing homes, grew when compared to recent years, but it remains below prepandemic levels.
Young households were affected the worst by the housing crisis, as home buying has become increasingly difficult with current levels of income for younger workers.
Among the biggest issues buyers faced was the lack of affordability, which kept buyer demand constrained. Builders faced other barriers like “zoning and permitting regulations, as well as rising material costs, which make building affordable homes relatively challenging.”
The analysis warned that even with 2024 being a step in the right direction, things need to improve further for the crisis to go away. If construction stays at the same level it did in 2024 and buyer demand doesn’t dip, it will take more than seven years to close the housing gap.