NAHB Updates Local Impact of Home Building Numbers

A recent Eye on Housing post reported on NAHB’s 800th customized local impact study.

In addition to studies customized to a particular area, NAHB has traditionally produced a “typical local” report using national average inputs.  This report—showing the jobs, income and taxes generated by residential construction in a typical local area—is available free to everyone on NAHB’s web site.

In April 2015, NAHB updated the typical local report.  A quick summary of the new numbers is as follows:

The updated estimates of the one-year impacts (including income earned during construction and the ripple effect that occurs when some of the income is spent) of building 100 single-family homes are

• $28.7 million in local income,
• $3.6 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
• 394 local jobs.

And the annual, ongoing impacts (resulting from the home becoming occupied and the occupants participating in the local economy) are

• $4.1 million in local income,
• $1.0 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
• 69 local jobs.

Similarly, the new estimated one-year impacts of building 100 rental apartments are

• $11.7 million in local income,
• $2.2 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
• 161 local jobs.

While the annual ongoing impacts are

• $2.6 million in local income,
• $503,000 in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
• 44 local jobs.

Finally, the one-year impacts of spending $1 million on residential remodeling in the typical local area are estimated at

• $841,000 in local income,
• $71,000 in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
• 11 and a half local jobs.

Because remodeled homes are in general occupied before the remodeling takes place, the annual local impacts are limited to

• $11,000 in residential property taxes.

The job estimates are measured in full-time equivalents—i.e., enough work to keep one worker employed full-time for a year.  Other details are summarized in a HousingEconomics.com Special Study, which also gives a quick overview of the methodology NAHB used to generate the estimates.

For additional information, including complete reports on the costs and benefits of residential construction in a typical local area and average state, and instructions on requesting customized reports, please see NAHB’s Local Economic Impact of Home Building  web page.