The housing market might finally be getting the relief it needs!
According to new data highlighted by Wolf Street, 2025 saw the start of 1.36 million new privately owned housing units across the US. Once completed, that’s enough new inventory to house over 3.1 million people.
But here’s the catch: US population growth has slowed to a crawl. The population increased by only 1.78 million through mid-2025, and is projected to grow by just 756,000 in 2026—a massive drop from the 2.5+ million annual growth we saw prior to 2009.
What does this mean for the market?
🏘️ Single-Family Homes: Inventories of completed new builds have piled up to their highest levels since 2009. To keep sales moving, major homebuilders are piling on incentives, giving up pandemic-era margins, and cutting prices.
🏢 Multifamily Units: Construction starts hit 416,000 in 2025. With a flood of higher-end rentals and condos hitting the market, vacancies are rising and asking rents are starting to edge down in several markets.
A massive wave of new housing supply meeting a historic slowdown in population growth could be the exact recipe needed to thaw out our overpriced and frozen real estate market. Bring on the supply! 🙌
