World Demand for Housing to Grow

Global demand for new housing is expected to increase 2.1 percent annual through 2011, generating the construction of nearly 58 million new housing units, according to a report from the Cleveland-based market research firm, the Freedonia Group.

Measured in terms of the inflation-adjusted value of residential construction, China is forecast to post the fastest advances over the forecast period. Real residential construction expenditures in China will expand 8.1 percent per year through 2011. China’s continuing population flows from rural to urban areas will help stimulate increases in new housing construction, according to the Freedonia Group’s findings. Population increases in China over the forecast period will be substantially below the world average, and the annual growth in new housing units will be moderate.

According to the report, Mexico will enjoy one of the fastest increases in the number of new housing units through 2011, with growth of nearly 5 percent per year to 1 million units. Advances will be driven by a continuation of government-sponsored efforts to address the country’s shortage of affordable housing, with a large portion of new home construction built through programs sponsored by housing agencies of the federal government.

In 2006, the existing global stock of housing was 1.8 billion units, 2 percent higher than the number of households. More than half of the world’s housing units are in the Asia/Pacific region. In 2006, China alone accounted for 23 percent of the world total, while the remainder of the Asia/Pacific region contained another 30 percent. The Africa/Mideast region had the second largest housing stock in 2006 at 15 percent of the world total.

The full study, “World Housing,” is available for purchase through the Freedonia Group at www.freedoniagroup.com.