Zillow Group Inc. has released a market analysis highlighting a significant increase in the US housing deficit, which has reached an all-time high of 4.7 million units. Despite a construction surge that added approximately 1.4 million new homes in 2023, the growing demand from 1.8 million newly formed families has outpaced supply. This imbalance has exacerbated the nation's housing affordability crisis. Zillow's analysis notes that millennials are the largest group sharing homes with non-relatives, constituting 38% of such arrangements. The report emphasizes the necessity of relaxing zoning laws to allow for higher-density housing, which could help alleviate the shortage. Major metro areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, are identified as having the largest housing deficits. Zillow advocates for state-level initiatives to support affordable and 'missing middle' housing solutions to address this pressing issue.