Back at Modeled Behavior I've dribbled out over the past months my thesis that contrary to common perception, America is closer to a housing shortage than a housing surplus. The prices of houses rose to extremely high levels during the 2000s. However, total home building did not.
What was noticeable about that period was the fraction of homes that were site-built single family homes, rather than duplexes, apartment buildings or mobile homes. However, the total amount of homes built barely reached records. In absolute terms not many more homes were being built in 2005 than in the early 1980s when the population was smaller and immigration less of a force.
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