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Study Projects Slowdown in Household Growth, Housing Demand01-15-25 | Economic News

Study Shows Projections of Slowdown in Household Growth, Housing Demand

Economic Outlook
by Rebecca Radtke, LASN

NAHB analytics show that the housing growth is forecasted down.

A recent study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) of Harvard University found that household growth is projected to slow significantly, which will have a harsh impact on housing demand.

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JCHS projects that household growth in the U.S. would slow to 8.6 million between 2025 and 2035 - compared to 11.2 million in the 2000s and 10.1 million in the 2010s. With that, there would be less growth than in any of the past three decades.

Further, an implication of this is the fact that there would be declining demand for housing construction and growth is the largest source of demand for new homes.

A key point of housing demand is the formation of households among young adults - 25-34-year-olds - that in a 2024 analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) of Census data, showed that the number of young people living with parents was seeing a downward trend, in fact it hit a decade low. The analysis also shows that young adults continue to live with their parents in higher-cost areas but there were variations across states.

Meanwhile, on January 10th, NAHB announced that residential construction loan volumes were down over the third quarter. The total volume of outstanding acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) loans made fell during the third quarter of 2024 to $490.7 billion from $495.8 billion in the second quarter while interest rates were up over the third quarter.

In conclusion, as the world faces a housing affordability crisis, these are the numbers that LASN will continue to monitor.

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