Dive summary:

• Builders are starting more homes as the recovery progresses and could perhaps the 1 million mark this year but it's fair to ask if the buyers will be there because the percentage of Americans owning homes is going down.
• The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University says in its 2013 report on the state of the housing market that the sector has plenty of room to grow as a percentage of gross domestic product to add more than it did last year, but it admits that may take several years.
• Like builders' groups, the center blames tight credit for some of the slowness in housing growth, but it also noted that homeownership across all population groups is down.

From the article:

Even during the housing recession, the Joint Center pointed optimistically to demographic trends that justify starting at least 1.2 million homes annually. ...