Up to 1 million new households will be created in 2011

Between 750,000 and 1 million new households will be created in 2011. That compares with just 357,000 added in the year ended March 2010, the lowest on record, according to the Census Bureau. As employment picks up, new households are likely to rise above the past decade’s average of 1.3 million a year.
In recent years, many households have doubled-up as a result of hard economic times. Individuals that might normally have rented or purchased their own place have moved in with parents or children to save money.

As economic conditions improve, many of these households will split back up as members seek to reestablish their independence. Combine an end to record low household formation with a period of record low housing construction and you have substantial support for both housing prices and rents.