First Things: Demographics and Depression

Statistics should always be taken with a mole of salt, but even still, they do serve a necessary function when attempting to problem solve. If our current economic downturn (arguably based in the "bleeding housing market") is considered a problem to be solved, we may find the following statistics at least interesting, and perhaps helpful.

"America's population has risen from 200 million to 300 million since 1970, while the total number of two-parent families with children is the same today as it was when Richard Nixon took office, at 25 million. In 1973, the United States had 36 million housing units with three or more bedrooms, not many more than the number of two-parent families with children - which means that the supply of family homes was roughly in line with the number of families. By 2005, the number of housing units with three or more bedrooms had doubled to 72 million, though America had the same number of two-parent families with children." - May 2009 First Things: Demographics and Depression (by David P. Goldman)

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