Building a new single-family home took less time in 2025 compared to the previous three years. On average, it now takes 8.8 months from start to finish. That time includes 1.4 months for authorization to start construction and another 7.4 months to finish construction.
Data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction shows that single-family construction timelines have shortened as pandemic-era supply chain challenges have eased. However, the time period is still around 1.6 months longer than the average completion time in 2015. The longer construction timeline may reflect several headwinds facing builders, including a more stringent regulatory environment and an ongoing skilled labor shortage.
Among all single-family houses completed in 2025, homes built for sale required the shortest amount of time, 7.4 months from obtaining building permits to completion. Meanwhile, homes built by owners (portion of custom home building) required the longest time, 14.3 months. Homes built by hired contractors took about 11.7 months (the larger portion of custom home building), and homes built-for-rent required about 12.4 months from authorization to completion.
The chart below illustrates that permit-to-completion time differs across home sizes. The smallest single-family homes, under 1,200 sq. ft., required 12.2 months to finish, relatively longer than every other size homes except those over 5,000 sq. ft. This prolonged period is primarily because half of these smaller homes are constructed specifically for rental purposes, which typically takes longer building time from authorization.
In contrast, homes ranging from 1,200 to 3,999 sq. ft. are built at the average building time, typically around 9 months. As the size increases beyond 4,000 sq. ft., there is a noticeable upward trend in completion times. Homes of 4,000-4,999 sq. ft. take about 10.7 months, while those between 5,000- 5,999 sq. ft. extend to around 12 months. Homes over 6,000 sq. ft. take the longest to build, requiring 16.3 months from permit to finish.
The average time from authorization to completion also varies regionally across divisions. The division with the longest duration was New England (13.5 months), followed by the Middle Atlantic (12.6 months), the Pacific division (10.3 months), the East South Central division (9.1 months), and the Mountain division (9.1 months) in 2025. These five divisions exceeded the nation’s average of 8.8 months. The shortest period, 7.6 months, is registered in the South Atlantic division. The average waiting period from permit to construction start varies from the shortest time of 1 month in the East North Central and the West North Central to the longest of 1.8 months in New England.
The SOC also collects additional information for houses built for sale, including a sale date when buyers sign sale contracts or make a deposit. Looking at single-family homes built for sale and completed in 2025, 12.3% were sold before construction started, 29.3% sold while under construction, 18.5% sold during the month of completion, and 31.5% sold after completion. The share of completed houses remaining unsold was 8.3% at the point of survey. Compared with 2024, a larger share of new single-family homes remained on the market until after construction was completed. The share sold after completion rose from 27.0% to 31.5%, while the share sold while under construction fell from 33.0% to 29.3%, and the share sold before construction began declined from 15.2% to 12.3%. These shifts suggest that, despite shorter construction timelines, builders faced a weaker sales environment in 2025.
