U.S. Must Increase Housing Construction by 60 Percent to Keep Up With Demand, Report Finds

U.S. Must Increase Housing Construction by 60 Percent to Keep Up With Demand, Report Finds

A pair of studies published Wednesday revealed that housing availability in the United States and the affordability crisis will only worsen following the pandemic.

Racial disparities will also likely widen between Black, Latino and white households, making homeownership inaccessible to lower-class Americans. The studies commissioned by the National Association of Realtors concluded the U.S. housing market must build at least 5.5 million new units to accommodate demand and keep homeownership affordable over the next decade.

That's on top of the roughly 1.2 million units built per year on average, or a roughly 60-percent increase in home construction for the next decade, just to keep up with demand.