Illustrating the Residential Accommodation Crisis
The housing shortage in the United States has been a persistent issue over the past seven years, and a series of visualizations by The New York Times aims to shed light on this problem. These visualizations, available for public viewing on The New York Times' website, depict the housing situation in the United States over the period from 2012 to 2019.
The visualizations use shades of purple to represent housing surpluses and shades of brown to represent housing shortages. One of these visualizations compares housing surpluses and shortages in 2012 to those in 2019, revealing an increase in housing shortages between these years.
These visualizations are designed to provide a clear and easy-to-understand representation of the housing shortage in the United States. They illustrate that from 2012 to 2019, the housing shortage has significantly increased due to a persistent undersupply of housing in the face of growing demand.
The shortage has exacerbated affordability issues, with many households paying a disproportionate share of income toward housing. By 2023, nearly half of renters paid over 30% of income on housing, and more than a quarter paid over 50%. This marks record levels of rent burden.
Detailed analysis from these visualizations highlights that zoning laws and local political opposition have limited new building, especially of moderate-density housing like duplexes and townhouses, creating a "missing middle" housing gap that fuels scarcity and drives prices up. Over the same period, high demand combined with supply shortfalls pushed home values and rents sharply higher despite occasional dips in home sales.
The national estimated housing shortfall topped 4.5 million units by 2025, reflecting a decade-long trend including 2012-2019. In metro areas like New York City, despite some growth in housing units within city limits, the shortage persists because surrounding suburbs with more space have not expanded housing stock at a comparable pace, further limiting regional supply.
Thus, the increase in housing shortage from 2012 to 2019 is primarily attributable to structural supply limitations driven by local regulations, regulatory processes, cost inflation, and insufficient development, which together failed to keep pace with demand growth, creating an intensifying national affordability crisis. These visualizations serve as a powerful tool in raising awareness about this critical issue.
Finance experts have identified this housing shortage crisis as an opportunity for investing in real-estate that targets the "missing middle" housing gap, aiming to alleviate the supply deficit in moderate-density housing like duplexes and townhouses. The visualizations from The New York Times show that from 2012 to 2019, the lack of investment and development in these property types has contributed significantly to the intensifying housing-market shortage, escalating both home values and rents.
