The American housing gap continues to widen. Although new construction last year picked up for the first time since 2016, the U.S. is still short nearly four million homes, according to analysis from Realtor.com.

Sergio Garate, a real estate expert who teaches at Emory University in Atlanta, said nowadays it takes significantly longer to build a home. But not just because of materials.

“Because of either permitting or revisions or anything that is coming from regulations,” he said.

According to a new analysis from Realtor.com, although 1.6 million homes were completed in 2024, it’s not enough to close the housing gap. The U.S. is still 3.8 million short.

“We did not need 1.6 [million] but we needed two million new houses to satisfy for the overall demand of that year,” Garate said.

Aside from zoning and regulation delays, Garate says affordability is another reason the gap continues to widen. Every year, more new buyers enter the market, creating a backlog as they wait for prices to go down.

“The amount of houses that are needed to satisfy the amount of demand that has not been satisfied starts increasing over time,” he said.

Michelle Sloan, a broker in the Cincinnati area, says the group affected most by the housing gap are first-time homebuyers.

“Those buyers are competing against investors,” Sloan said.

As for when she believes the housing gap will begin to shrink, Sloan said likely after 2030.

“We think that we’re going to be in this pattern for the next 5-6 years, maybe longer,” she said.

According to the new analysis, if construction rates stay the same, it would take 7.5 years to close the gap.

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