Featured Infographic: Housing Supply (May 20th, 2025)

Today’s featured CRS article, “Housing Supply,” gives information on national housing supply trends while emphasizing the ongoing shortage of homes in the country. Experts believe that current supply conditions reflected in construction rates, vacancy rates, and housing units per capita fall short. Although market dynamics and policies usually shape housing development, other factors such as interest rates, tax policies, and labor supply affect housing availability. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show that overall, housing production has fallen significantly over the past two decades. This article falls under the issue area of Science, Emergency Management. From the CRS:

Housing supply (along with housing demand) affects the affordability and availability of homes to own and rent. Many researchers suggest that the United States currently has an undersupply of homes, though estimates and methodologies differ. While local housing markets vary, the selected indicators presented below provide an overview of supply conditions nationally. Although housing supply is largely determined by private market actions regulated at the state and local levels, federal actions involving tax policy, grants, trade, interest rates, and labor supply can all have important effects.

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