The MReport Webcast: Tuesday 11/4/2014

As the U.S. homeownership rate continues to dwell near its lowest level in two decades, a new study from Zillow suggests more than five million additional households are waiting in the wings to step into the market. According to a report released on Monday, an estimated 32 percent of adults living in the United States were living with roommates or other adult family members in 2012. That compares to just more than a quarter of adults as recently at 2000. In all, Zillow says the country has lost an estimated 5.4 million potential households to the so-called doubling up phenomenon, many of which are now waiting for the economy to get a point where they can strike out on their own.

A major part of that buildup comes from stagnating wages, which came to a median 29 thousand in doubled-up households in 2012, only about 76 percent of the median income of people living without roommates. Once the nation does get to a point where would-be homeowners are able to clear the economic hurdles to homeownership, Zillow predicts demand could bounce back so much that household growth could outpace population growth, spurring more home sales and new construction.

Spending on construction projects fell across the United States for a second straight month in September, spurring a decline in analysts' expectations for economic growth in the third quarter. The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending throughout September came in at an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $950.9 billion, down 0.4 percent from August. In a note to clients, Patrick Newport and Stephanie Karol, U.S. economists at IHS, called September's release quote--another disappointing report. Based on September spending, the two expect the GDP growth rate to be revised down to 3.4 percent for the quarter.