How big is the housing shortage?

It depends on who you ask, and the method matters as much as the number.

The Congressional Research Service compiled several widely cited national estimates:¹

Freddie Mac: 3.7 million units (Q3 2024)
Up for Growth: 3.85 million (2022)
Zillow: 4.7 million (2023)
Brookings: 4.9 million (Q4 2023)

They differ in how they count “missing” households that would form if housing were affordable, and in the vacancy rate they target. Freddie Mac notes that even after adding 5.8 million units in about four years, demand rose by almost the same amount.²

For us, the takeaway is not a single number. It is that shortages are local, and the right location matters. CRS notes national estimates say little about specific places.¹