Question: Just How Big Is Housing?
The U.S. housing market consists of 110 million occupied units, including 76 million owner-occupied homes and 34 million rental units.
The total value of the nation’s housing stock exceeds $20 trillion. And, equity – the value of a home minus any debt – now exceeds $12 trillion in the U.S.
Roughly 69% of all U.S. households own their home. The homeownership rate has generally been rising throughout history and is currently very near its all-time high.
In 2007, 6.7 million single family homes will be sold, including more than 5.6 million sales in the existing housing market. A little over one million homes were sold in the new housing market in 2006, down somewhat from the record high set in 2004.
Housing is first and foremost a place to live, and although significant, its value as an investment is still secondary for the vast majority of American homeowners.
Sources:Housing Vacancy Survey for the Third Quarter of 2006, U.S. Census Bureau.
Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States, Statistical Release December 2006, Federal Reserve Board. Housing Vacancy Survey for the Third Quarter of 2006, U.S. Census Bureau.
NAHB Housing Forecast, NAHB Economics Group. Content Pulled from NAHB.com 8/15/07