Can't say I'm surprised by this post from Calculated Risk today. Looks like there are more people per household these days. Makes sense, as more kids are staying at home after/during college, family members, or homeowners taking on boarders.
CR takes a closer look insode the numbers, as usual, and makes this point:
This might seem like a small increase in the number of people per household (from 2.56 to 2.59), however that has a significant impact on the number of housing units needed.
Some rough numbers: If we assume a population of 300 million, the slight increase in household size would suggest about 1.3 million fewer housing units were needed. (300 million divided 2.56) minus (300 million divided by 2.59) equals about 1.3 million. This is more than offset by the growing population over this two year period, but this shows why the excess inventory has remained very high even with a series low number of new housing units being completed.
Housing inventory is still significantly higher than historical averages, and now more people are "doubling up". Anything housing/construction related will continue to suffer..
