In the second quarter, residential investment — money spent on building, adding to and maintaining homes — accounted for just 2.2% of GDP, according to the Commerce Department.
That was the lowest level since 1945, when America was on a war footing. If residential investment were to rebound to its average share of the economy from 1950 to 2000 of 4.7%, GDP would be 2.5% higher than it is now. That’s about as much as it grows in an average year.
Via Wall Street Journal.