MBA Chart of the Week: Projected Changes in Households By Age, 2014-2024

Household formation has been depressed in recent years by a long, jobless recovery.  A new report from MBA, titled Housing Demand, provides a projection of much stronger housing demand over the next decade.   

By 2024, demographic, social and economic changes will bring what could be one of the largest expansions in the history of the U.S. housing market–15.9 million additional households.  

Household growth will be led by 5.7 million more Hispanic households in 2024 than in 2014, 5.0 million more non-Hispanic White households, 2.4 million more African-American households, 1.9 million more Asian households and 890,000 other households.  

By age group, growth will be driven by Baby Boomers, with 12.9 million more households age 60 and over in 2024 than there are today. Millennials will also be a key component of growth raising the ranks of households age 18 to 44 by 5.1 million.  Generation X’s relatively small size means that there will be 2.1 million fewer households age 45 to 59 than there are today.   

Favorable economic and demographic trends will combine to create strong growth in both owner and rental housing markets. The precise mix will depend on the degree to which consumer choices, the relative cost of owning vs. renting and government policy’s impact on access to credit favor one or the other.   

To view the Chart of the Week, click https://www.mba.org/news-research-and-resources/forecasts-data-and-reports/forecasts-and-commentary/chart-of-the-week.  

(Lynn Fisher is vice president of research and economics with the Mortgage Bankers Association; she can be reached at lfisher@mba.org. Jamie Woodwell is vice president of commercial/multifamily research and economics with MBA. He can be reached at jwoodwell@mba.org.)