Episode 136: US Housing Demand Looking Forward
Summary
The numbers still matter. They ALWAYS matter. So you MUST know your numbers. In today’s episode, I am nerding out on the US report from Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University from January 2025. Specifically, I am going to review the Household and New Housing Demand for housing projections for the next two decades including: less demand overall, population shrinkage, demand for different layouts, many generations under one roof, and more! As a listener of this podcast, it’s important to know if the product you are supplying for the next 20 years is what the buying customers want (or not)…. Join me in today’s episode in nerding out.
View the PDF:
Household and New Housing Unit Demand Projections for 2025–2035 and 2035–2045
Listen to the full episode :
This Week’s Blog Post:
Hi friends! I’m Dr. Jen, and welcome back to My Life as a Landlord. If you’ve been here a while, you know I love to nerd out—and today’s episode is all about the numbers. I recently covered Canada’s 2025 Rental Housing Report, so it’s only fair that we now turn our attention to the U.S. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University released their January 2025 report projecting housing demand for the next 20 years. It’s loaded with charts, methodology, and insights that every landlord, investor, and planner should know. Let’s dig in.
Key Takeaways: Slower Growth, Shifting Demographics
The primary finding of the report is a major slowdown in U.S. household growth. This next decade is projected to have the lowest rate of growth in the last 100 years, largely due to aging populations, rising mortality, and declining birth rates. At the same time, we’ll see a demographic shift: fewer households will be headed by non-Hispanic whites, while a larger share will be formed by people of color. This changing landscape is going to affect everything from the type of housing people need to the way we build and plan communities.
Accessibility, Layouts, and Multigenerational Living
One big trend: accessibility is going to matter more. As our population ages, expect more demand for things like ramps, chairlifts, and ground-level entries. Also, people are increasingly rejecting the cookie-cutter high-rise one-bed condo. The future calls for a variety of unit types and layouts. Multigenerational housing is on the rise, especially in places like Hawaii, and that’s not just cultural—it’s practical. With affordability a major concern, more people are pooling resources under one roof.
Immigration and the Big Question Mark
Immigration emerges as the wild card. Whether housing demand rises or falls in the next two decades could heavily depend on U.S. immigration policy. The report modeled different scenarios—low, medium, and high immigration—and each tells a different story. On the other hand, the report also notes current housing undersupply and bureaucratic hurdles like zoning and permitting delays as factors that may limit new housing construction even when demand exists.
What This Means for Landlords and Investors
So what’s the big picture? From 2025 to 2035, we’re looking at a projected need for 9 million additional housing units, including over 2 million just to replace old or demolished stock. But from 2035 to 2045, that number drops. Household growth will decline, and demand will shrink accordingly. As landlords and real estate investors, it’s critical that we stay ahead of these shifts. The housing we build and invest in today must match the needs of tomorrow’s tenants—more diverse, more intergenerational, and more adaptable.
Join me next week for Episode 137, where I talk about chasing a bucket list item—and why that can keep you inspired and engaged in both life and business. See you then!