The number of housing units in the U.S. increased a scant 0.36% last year to 132.3 million, according to figures released by the Census Bureau on Thursday.
The slight improvement in available housing lends ammunition to economists who believe the market could face a shortage of available units to own and rent over the next few years.
The Census Bureau defines a housing unit as a “house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall.”
The current U.S. population now stands at 313 million.
Builders are on track to construct roughly 343,000 units of housing this year, a figure that includes both single-family and multifamily units. With the U.S. population continuing to grow, some economists fear an eventual shortage unless construction picks up steam.
However, with the national unemployment rate stuck at just over 8% and consumers still fearful about their jobs and future income there is little incentive to buy.
On the residential lending side of the equation, according to new figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report, refis accounted for 77% of fundings in the first quarter compared to 66% for all of last year.
