Housing construction in 2022 added more than a million units to the market, but despite the record increase, the country continues to struggle with a lack of homes.
In 2022, the country saw 1.4 million homes added to the market, the most in any calendar year since 2007. But even with the construction boom, the U.S. was still short 4.5 million homes that year, up from a 4.3 million deficit the year before.
That is according to a new report published by real-estate firm Zillow. The firm defines "deficit" as the difference between two factors: the number of homes listed for rent or sale and the number of families likely to be looking to purchase or rent a home. The report noted that there were only 3.55 million vacant homes in 2022, while there were about 8.09 million households seeking their own home during the same period.
"The simple fact is there are not enough homes in this country, and that's pushing homeownership out of reach for too many families," Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, said in a press release.
"The affordability crisis extends to renters as well, with nearly half of renter households being cost burdened. Filling the housing shortage is the long-term answer to making housing more affordable. We are in a big hole, and it is going to take more than the status quo to dig ourselves out of it," Divounguy continued.
The study further noted that even if the country's population stops growing, housing construction would have to accelerate considerably to make a dent in the deficit.
"A large pre-existing deficit suggests that even if the nation were to see no population growth, that increase is still far below what would have been needed to close the deficit," the report read.
Which States Have the Largest Deficit?
Among the country's 50 largest metropolitan areas, those in the coastal areas have the worst housing shortages. These housing markets include Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.
The nation's two largest cities, namely Los Angeles and New York, have the largest estimated deficit at roughly 337,000 and 390,000 respectively, according to Zillow.
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