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Originally Posted by Peanut
Okay. So all the pictures of the vacant lots and partially constructed homes... can someone explain to me whether the "new home" industry and it's pace of construction was ever sustainable? I understand it's an industry that employs people (lots of people) and to have it in a major downturn is impactful to other industries as well (lumber, etc). But there isn't a never-ending supply of people who need new homes, is there? The population is just not growing that fast??
I don't know, maybe I'm missing the point or being too cynical. But the whole new homes thing just invokes a "what else were they expecting?!" type of reaction from me. You can't keep building new suburbs forever when there isn't a supply of owners to buy them (and live in them).
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The population growth rate of the US is the highest of any industrialized nation, at 0.88%. They have a strong birth rate and also a strong immigration level. Because of social changes, the number of households are growing at an even faster rate. A generation ago, the average household size may have been 5 persons (just a guess), whereas today due to smaller family sizes and split families due to divorce, the average household size is much less. So, even at the same population level, you'd have more homes.