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Boston actually saw its housing deficit decline after the pandemic, according to a new estimate from the listings portal Zillow. But the gap between demand and supply is still huge.

The metro was short 147,028 homes in 2024 according to new data published by Zillow’s economics team, with the deficit declining by 3,513 homes year-over-year. The deficit was among the four largest in the nation by metro area.

While this might seem promising, the market is still struggling to find affordable homes. In May 2026, just 14.8 percent of homes for sale were deemed “affordable,” meaning a household making Greater Boston’s median income would spend no more than 30 percent of its income on its monthly mortgage, assuming a 20 percent down payment, a typical amount for move-up buyers. It was an increase from 11.4 percent in May 2025.

Zillow’s economics team calculated its housing deficit estimates by taking the number of households that were “doubling up” – living with non-relatives – and subtracting the number of homes sitting vacant and available to rent or buy, according to census data. The company said there were roughly 5.3 for-sale and rental homes for every household doubling up in Greater Boston.

The national housing deficit remained at 4.7 million units in 2024, rising by just 43,000 homes according to Zillow and suggesting the deficit has stopped growing. The deficit grew by 159,063 in 2023. Zillow estimates 35.2 percent of homes were affordable to the median-income buyer in May 2026.

“The country is not yet building its way out of the hole, but we stopped digging,” Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy said in a statement. “Behind every missing home is a family doubling up, unable to find or afford a place of their own. Stopping the bleeding is progress, but making a real dent requires more than the status quo. We need flexible zoning to allow for more density, streamlined permitting and support for manufactured housing. It’s been encouraging to see a bipartisan emphasis from Congress in finding solutions to the housing affordability crisis, because this is an issue that matters to everyone.”