Click to enlarge.
The construction of housing units has been growing linearly.
Click to enlarge.
Our population has been growing linearly as well.
Now let's combine the two charts.
Click to enlarge.
There continues to be excess housing inventory compared to the declining long-term trend.
As a side note, I probably wouldn't read too much into the dip in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was so close to 1968 that even minor variations in the cumulative data would get amplified. That said, I think home builders were unprepared for the increased demand of that era. I think it would be safe to say that there was no housing bubble in 1971.
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: New Privately-Owned Housing Units Completed
St. Louis Fed: Population
Mark, I think that 1965-1975 housing crunch is two factors: lots of babyboomers, and changes to housing regulations. Not a coincidence, I think, that Housing and Urban Development became a cabinet level post in 1965, and quickly did for housing what the Department of Education has done for education.
ReplyDeleteWho Struck John,
ReplyDeletePulling all that silver from our coins in 1965 freed up some real prosperity too.
Win win! Sigh.