The national housing deficit remained at 4.7 million units in 2024, rising by just 43,000 homes, according to a new Zillow report based on US Census Bureau data.
Zillow attributed the steady deficit level to a homebuilding boom that increased the total number of housing units by about 1.4 million in 2024, coupled a 50-year high for newly finished multifamily homes. The company added that the share of for-sale listings on Zillow that were affordable to a median-income household was roughly 33%, unchanged year-over-year.
The most severe housing deficits were in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, DC. While 35% of for-sale listings in May were affordable to a median-income household nationwide, the shares are far lower in four of the five markets with the biggest deficits.
“The country is not yet building its way out of the hole, but we stopped digging,” said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow. “Behind every missing home is a family doubling up, unable to find or afford a place of their own. Stopping the bleeding is progress, but making a real dent requires more than the status quo. We need flexible zoning to allow for more density, streamlined permitting and support for manufactured housing. It’s been encouraging to see a bipartisan emphasis from Congress in finding solutions to the housing affordability crisis, because this is an issue that matters to everyone.”
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