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Americans’ driving habits are in gradual decline. It could impact the housing market, according to a recent report.
Despite Americans driving less, most new housing supply continues to be built in car-dependent areas, according to Realtor.com, reflecting a disconnect between changing consumer behavior and where developers are adding new homes.
Realtor.com cited data from the Federal Highway Administration that showed that vehicle miles traveled per capita have declined 2.3% since 2019. Compared with two decades ago, the average American drives nearly 5% less, underscoring how consumers are becoming less dependent on driving.
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Yet, urban areas with transit stations aren’t building as much supply as compared to areas without these transit stations.
The report noted that transit-oriented development – housing and land use designed around transit to create walkable communities – is one option to help close that gap, as a growing body of research suggests it can strengthen local economies by boosting foot traffic to nearby businesses.
However, this doesn’t come without its issues. For instance, the report noted that even with increased funding and policy attention, housing supply near transit continues to lag significantly.
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Nearly nine times as many housing units were built far from transit stations as were built near them over the past two decades, according to a comprehensive analysis from the Urban Institute. But it is slowly moving in a positive direction.
According to the analysis, neighborhoods near stations that opened in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s had a lower rate of housing growth than other parts of their respective urban areas during the 10 or 20 years following station openings.
That trend shifted in the 1990s, and neighborhoods near stations that opened between 2000 and 2009 saw housing growth by 2019 that was about eight percentage points higher than comparable neighborhoods without transit access, according to the analysis.
Still, this improvement hasn’t kept pace with overall population and housing demand, according to Realtor.com’s report. From 2000 to 2019, urban areas with transit stations added 2 million units, while areas without stations added 17.6 million, according to the report. This means most of the supply is still being built in car-dependent areas.
