New Data Reframes U.S. Housing Shortage

Roofing NewsRoofing Supply Pro Housing Insights New Data Reframes U.S. Housing Shortage Shift may affect roofing growth plans By Tanja Kern, Senior Strategic Content Editor Photo by Josh Olalde on Unsplash March 2, 2026 The U.S. housing shortage might not be as large as many in the industry thought, which could affect how roofing contractors plan for growth. A recent blog post, "The U.S. Housing Shortage is Smaller Than Commonly Claimed," written by Lilli Tillman Smith, industry analyst at Principia Consulting, and Eric Gaus, Chief Economist at Dodge Construction Network, examines how this new view affects labor planning, material procurement, and equipment investment. According to Dodge Construction Network, the housing shortage peaked in mid-2022 at about 2 to 3 million units. Since then, it has dropped to around 1 to 1.5 million units, based on vacancy rates. Affordability remains a problem, but it is mostly due to high financing costs, construction expenses, and land-use rules, not just a lack of available homes. Vacancy rates for both rentals and owned homes are starting to level out. For roofing contractors, this means demand will likely come more from remodeling, replacement work, and local trends than from a surge in new construction. KEYWORDS: construction climate data residential building Residential Roofing Contractor Share This Story Looking for a reprint of this article? From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today! Tanja Kern covers economic tr...