Eye On Housing
A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2016 included two-car garages, according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau Survey of Construction data.
For new single-family completions in 2016, 63% of homes offered a two-car garage. Another 22% of homes possessed a garage large enough to hold three or more cars. Just 6% of newly-built homes had a one-car garage, and only 1% possessed a carport. Another 8% of new homes had no garage or carport.
The average size of a completed new home in 2016 was 2,637 square feet. Data indicates that as the size of the completed home increases, the share of 1-car garage or other declines. “Other” includes carport, off-street parking (including a driveway with no garage or carport), and other parking facilities. At the same time, the share of completed homes with 2 or more garages increased as the square footage of the house increased.
As shown in the figure below, the smaller the size of the house, the larger the share of 1-car or other parking facilities. The “other” category is the largest share of homes with less than 1,200 square feet at 68.3%, but as the square footage of the home increases, the share of homes with an other setup, declines to 1.4% in homes larger than 5,000 square feet. The percentage of completed homes with a 1-car garage is at 13.9% for homes smaller than 1,200 square feet. After rising to 18.1% for homes with 1,200-1,599 square feet, the proportion of completed homes with a 1-car garage declines to 0.5% for homes larger than 5,000 square feet.
As the house size increases, 2-car garages become the largest share of parking options. The share of 2-car garages are at 71.2% for completed homes between 1,600-1,999 square feet and it increases to 78.3% for homes between 2,000-2,399 square feet. However, for homes between 2,400-2,999 square feet, the share of 2-car garages drops to 70.9% and continues to declines as the home size increase from there. Three-car garages are only 2.6% of the homes less than 1,200 square feet but continues to increase as the square footage of the completed home increases. For completed homes larger than 5,000 square feet, 3-cars or more parking option becomes the most likely setup.
There is clear uniformity for parking options in new homes completed across the Census divisions. Except for West North Central division, the 2-car garage was the largest share of the completed homes in all other divisions. In the West North Central division, 3 or more car garages were associated with 50.1% of all completed homes in this Division, while 2-car garages were apart of 43% of the homes. The South Atlantic division had the highest share of 2-car garages with 71.9%. One-car garages were most popular in the Middle Atlantic division, while “other” which includes carport, off-street parking, and other parking facilities was the largest share in New England.
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