The Census Bureau’s estimate of household formation as part of its Homeownership & Vacancy Survey was a very encouraging 1.7m in 2014. Admittedly, that’s significantly above the alternative Current Population Survey measure, which only rose by 0.8m last year. Measures of household formation are very noisy and the truth may lie somewhere in between. Nevertheless, the combination of a high share of young adults living in the parental home, falling mortgage rates and loosening credit means that the outlook for household formation is strengthening. That’s one of the reasons why we are optimistic about the prospects for homebuilding over the next few years.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services