What We Measure Shapes Housing Outcomes

A recent YouGov poll of Illinois voters confirms what many are already experiencing. Housing affordability is a problem, and people want action.

84% say housing costs are a problem
67% say there are not enough affordable homes
82% want the state to act

This concern regions, income levels, and political perspectives, affecting people at every stage of the housing market. How we measure this housing demand may not fully reflect what is happening in the market.

Research from Brookings highlights that housing demand is typically measured by counting households. In the 2024 American Community Survey, only 50.9% of adults are classified as household heads.

Households are the outcome of having access to housing, not the starting point. Measuring demand only through households captures who has housing, not who is trying to access it.

For many, that gap means delayed independence, constrained choices, and fewer opportunities to put down roots.

This dynamic is visible in real life. In Illinois, roughly 35% of adults aged 18 to 35 are living with their parents. This reflects more than personal preference. It points to limited availability of attainable housing and fewer entry-level options.

Many of these individuals are not counted as independent housing demand today but would be if they had access to their own housing.

When housing demand is measured based only on existing households, the scale of need can appear smaller than it is. That disconnect carries through to how housing needs are projected and how development decisions are made.

Those decisions do not happen in a vacuum. They are carried out through local land use policies, most notably zoning.

Zoning determines what can be built, where it can be built, and how much can be built. When housing is not allowed, it cannot be produced.

If a significant share of demand is not fully captured and housing is constrained by what is allowed to be built, any serious housing strategy must include policies that address production.

Policies that focus on reducing costs for existing homeowners may provide short-term relief, but they do not address the barriers to creating additional housing units for those trying to enter or move within the market.

If the goal is to improve affordability in a meaningful way, the conversation must include how to increase the supply of housing that align with today’s demand, including demand not always visible in traditional data.

If we only count households, we miss the people trying to become one.

This is why conversations like the BUILD Plan matter. They help ensure housing policy reflects both the reality of demand and the need for production.