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Some Solutions for America’s Housing Shortage
The United States has a shortage of 3.2 million to 6.5 homes depending on which statistic you believe. This shortage exists because the number of households Americans form exceeds the number of homes we build.
Therefore, we shall need to construct several million homes to end the housing shortage. Yet, I have only heard one politician, presidential candidate and US Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minnesota), propose a crash program to build those homes.
Yet, we can see the effects of the crisis on America’s streets each day. For example, the number of homeless Americans grew by 12% in between 2022 and 2023, the highest increase ever, The US Department of Urban Planning and Development reports.
Many people are unhoused because they can no longer find affordable housing in their communities. The housing shortage’s effects go far beyond homelessness.
For example, the Common Sense Institute’s US Homebuyer Misery Index rose to 166.77% on 31 July 2023. The Homebuyer Misery Index tracks ordinary people’s inability to buy a home, a key component of the American Dream.
The United States of Misery
Homebuyer Misery is worse in some areas, it 190.84% in Colorado and 193.7% in Montana in July 2023. In depth, housing affordability in…