Eye On Housing
A recent NAHB post shows that, after rising to a record high, the size of new single-family homes has leveled off and, as of the second quarter of 2016, is now trending downward slightly. Several things could be responsible. NAHB (and others) have emphasized a changing mix of repeat and first-time home buyers. Before focusing exclusively on this, however, it would be good… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) shows that 57% of all new single-family homes started in 2015 were built on slab foundations, 27% had a full/partial basement, and 14% had a crawl space. The remaining 2% included raised supports, earthen, and other foundation types. The share of new single-family homes built on slabs steadily increased from 46% in… Read More ›
Information obtained from the public-use microdata files provided by the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB, shows that there is a greater share of two or more story homes completed than one story homes. In addition, the greatest share of two or more story homes are in divisions along the coasts of the country. Analysis… Read More ›
The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building, after obtaining authorization, was 14 months according to the 2015 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The permit-to-completion time increased by approximately one month from 2014 to 2015, as per unit median square footage and share of multifamily for sale rose. The average time to… Read More ›
The 2015 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 7 months, which usually includes almost a month from authorization to start and another 6 months to finish the construction. The timeline from authorization to completion, however, is not consistent across the nation, depending on the housing category,… Read More ›
The median lot size of a new single-family detached home sold in 2015 dropped under 8,600 square feet for the first time since Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) started tracking the series. An acre is 43,560 square feet, so the current median lot size is just under one-fifth of an acre. In 2014, Paul Emrath used a football field… Read More ›
A majority of new homes that started construction in 2014 included two-car garages, according to NAHB analysis of Census Survey of Construction data. For single-family constructions starts in 2014, 61.9% of homes included a two-car garage. Another 23.5% of homes possessed a garage large enough to hold three of more cars. Approximately 10% of homes were classified in the “other” category, which… Read More ›
NAHB’s analysis of the most recent Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) shows that in 2014 custom home building expanded across all regions of the Unites States, except the Mountain division where the custom home share of new single-family starts remained stable under 16 percent, the lowest share in the nation. The New England and East North Central divisions registered… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the 2013 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data, use of non-conventional financing methods to purchase new homes varies widely across the country. The West South Central divison is most heavily reliant on mortages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) with the share of FHA-insured loans reaching almost 20 percent. At the same time,… Read More ›
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), single-family homes started in New England, where local zoning regulations often require very low densities, are built on some of the largest and most expensive lots in the nation. Looking at single-family spec homes started in 2013, the median lot size in New England exceeds half an acre. This… Read More ›