Apr. 2, 2024 By Ethan Marshall
From 2012-2022, the housing stock in Queens County increased 8.5%, according to a study by the construction software, insurance and related services organization Construction Coverage.
The percentage increase over the 10-year-period is the same as that of the entire country, based on the study where nearly 800 counties were evaluated.
Construction Coverage analysis based on Census Bureau data. Photo courtesy of Construction Coverage
During that same span, the population in Queens County went up by just 0.2%. Home prices, meanwhile, soared 70.3% over that period.
While the percentage increase in housing stock in Queens pales in comparison to Williamson County in Texas, which had the highest increase among large counties at 58.6%, it is still much more than many other counties, including Baltimore City in Maryland, which had a miniscule 0.7% increase in housing stock.
Even after adjusting for inflation, the prices for homes across the United States has increased nearly 60% from 2012 to 2022. Additionally, approximately one in four spend more than half their income on rent. The study also determined that the U.S. is facing a housing shortage of between 3.8 million and 5.5 million units. As a result, people in Queens and the country as a whole have been left to compete for the relatively small number of housing units available, contributing to rising prices to these already expensive units.
The study points to the 2008 housing market crash as a major contributing factor to the housing shortages felt in Queens County, as well as much of the country. Following the crash, there were mass layoffs and closures for many companies within the construction industry, leading to a dramatic reduction in residential construction. It was not until 2020 that new housing projects reached averages more than those seen prior to the 2008 crash.
While most of the country has followed similar trends to Queens County when it comes to housing growth, the areas that have been experiencing immense growth include several Mountain West and Sun Belt states, including Utah, Idaho and Colorado. Texas has also seen significant growth from 2012-2022. In addition to many of the counties in these states being less expensive and developed than those of coastal states, there are also fewer regulations limiting construction, allowing for housing stock to more easily be added in a timely manner.