America Is Building More Three-Car Garages Than One-Bedroom Apartments

Inventory has been a major theme of U.S. housing markets in recent years, as a shortage of homes for sale has pushed prices higher and low vacancy rates have increased rents. So it might be surprising to hear that Americans are building plenty of housing—for their cars.

Twenty-four percent of new homes completed in 2015 included a garage with room for three or more cars, according to census data highlighted in a blog post last week by Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. That’s the highest share since the Census Bureau started keeping track of large garages in 1992. In every year since the Census has kept track, U.S. homebuilders have built more three-car garages than one-bedroom apartments.1477341289356