Realtor.com Reports US Housing Supply Gap Tops 4.03 Million Homes
News Corp's Realtor.com reports US housing supply gap reached 4.03 million homes in 2025, up from 3.8 million in 2024, as 1.41 million household formations outpaced 1.36 million housing starts. The minimum income needed to buy a median-priced starter home fell to $86,000 and median down payment hit $30,400.
1. Report Overview
News Corp's Realtor.com released its 2026 Housing Supply Gap Report, showing the cumulative U.S. housing deficit widened to 4.03 million homes in 2025, the third-largest annual shortfall since 2012.
2. National Supply vs Demand
In 2025, 1.41 million households formed compared with 1.36 million housing starts, adding roughly 50,000 units to the shortfall and driving a total of 1.82 million ‘missing’ Millennial and Gen Z households.
3. Affordability Constraints
The minimum income required to purchase a median-priced starter home declined to $86,000 in 2025, while the median down payment reached $30,400, representing 14.4% of the purchase price and requiring seven years of savings at current rates.
4. Regional Disparities
The South carries the largest cumulative deficit at 1.62 million homes, the Northeast faces the most acute gap relative to construction at 0.58 homes unbuilt per new start, followed by the Midwest and the West.