Minneapolis has one of the worst housing shortages in the US

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis is one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the worst housing shortage, according to a Zillow report. 

The report from Zillow says even after a pandemic construction boom, the housing shortage in the country continues to grow. The U.S. had a deficit of 4.5 million homes in 2022, up from 4.3 million in 2021.

This housing shortage is defined by the difference between the number of families looking for their own home and how many homes were available for rent or sale. 

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Zillow analyzed the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. and ranked the top 10 worst cities with housing shortages. Minneapolis ranked eighth in the study. 

Even with an increase in home construction, the shortage of available homes continues to grow, which Zillow attributed to the rise in the nation’s family count, as well as "very sluggish construction activity in the decade preceding the pandemic." 

In 2022, 1.4 million homes were built, but the number of families in the U.S. increased by 1.8 million, which did not help the housing deficit, the report from Zillow said. 

"The simple fact is there are not enough homes in this country, and that's pushing homeownership out of reach for too many families," Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, said in a statement. 

"The affordability crisis extends to renters as well, with nearly half of renter households being cost burdened," Divounguy added. "Filling the housing shortage is the long-term answer to making housing more affordable. We are in a big hole, and it is going to take more than the status quo to dig ourselves out of it."