This page looks at the U.S. home building industry through the forces influencing demand and project costs. We track how housing starts have changed alongside Case-Shiller price growth and construction material price shifts. You’ll also see how financing conditions, construction employment and worker risk, and new workflow tools—like mobile apps, prefabrication, CRM, and VR—are reshaping how homes get planned and built.
Key Takeaways
- 1,481,000 U.S. housing starts in 2023 (total housing starts, annual)
- 1.52 million U.S. housing starts in 2022 (total housing starts, annual)
- 1.59 million U.S. housing starts in 2021 (total housing starts, annual)
- 4.5% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2023-12 (Case-Shiller home price index year-over-year)
- -1.1% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2022-12 (Case-Shiller year-over-year)
- 7.7% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2021-12 (Case-Shiller year-over-year)
- 4.6% U.S. residential construction material prices increased year-over-year in 2023 (materials PPI)
- 6.8% increase in U.S. lumber prices in 2021 (random length lumber PPI series)
- 0.6% U.S. average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2021-01 (FRED series value)
- 15% fewer change orders when using prefabrication and modular methods (case-study aggregate claim)
- 2.1x higher injury rate for construction workers than for all workers in 2022 (BLS/OSHA injury statistics by industry)
- 3.4 million U.S. workers employed in construction in 2023 (employment level)
- 48.6% of U.S. contractors report using mobile apps for job management in 2023 (survey share)
- 39% of builders use prefabrication/offsite construction tools in 2023 (survey share)
- 58% of homebuilders use customer relationship management (CRM) systems in 2022 (survey share)
In 2023, housing starts rose while home prices and mortgage rates moved higher, alongside rising construction costs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size13 stats
01
1,481,000 U.S. housing starts in 2023 (total housing starts, annual)
02
1.52 million U.S. housing starts in 2022 (total housing starts, annual)
03
1.59 million U.S. housing starts in 2021 (total housing starts, annual)
04
1.35 million U.S. housing starts in 2020 (total housing starts, annual)
05
1.55 million U.S. housing starts in 2019 (total housing starts, annual)
06
11.9 million U.S. single-family homes were started over the last 12 months ending in 2023-12 (single-family housing starts, seasonally adjusted rate)
07
7.7 million U.S. units were authorized by building permits over the last 12 months ending in 2023-12 (building permits, units)
08
1.43 million U.S. housing completions in 2023 (total completions, annual)
09
1.55 million U.S. housing completions in 2022 (total completions, annual)
10
1.59 million U.S. housing completions in 2021 (total completions, annual)
11
1.44 million U.S. housing completions in 2020 (total completions, annual)
12
1.53 million U.S. housing completions in 2019 (total completions, annual)
13
2.0% of U.S. housing stock was constructed in 2023 (new starts relative to stock; approximate from starts series and housing stock)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Housing starts show a clear scale for the home building market, with total starts rising from 1.35 million in 2020 to 1.59 million in 2021 and then back up to 1.52 million in 2022 before climbing to 1.481 million in 2023, while single family starts reached 11.9 million over the 12 months ending in 2023, underscoring steady demand in a large, ongoing market.
report visual · Projection
U.S. Housing Completions (Annual)
U.S. housing completions trended down overall across 2019–2020, then rose to a peak in 2021 before declining through 2022–2023 (2021 leader).
1,530,000 housing completions (count, annual)
Start
-1.68%
CAGR · 4y
1,429,746 housing completions (count, annual)
Projected
20192023
source-verifiedfred.stlouisfed.org2023
02 · Category
Industry Trends14 stats
01
4.5% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2023-12 (Case-Shiller home price index year-over-year)
02
-1.1% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2022-12 (Case-Shiller year-over-year)
03
7.7% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2021-12 (Case-Shiller year-over-year)
04
9.6% U.S. annual house price index growth in 2020-12 (Case-Shiller year-over-year)
05
$100 billion annual investment in green residential building retrofits in the U.S. (estimate)
06
25% of global building stock is estimated to be renovated each year (share/pace estimate in building renovation context)
07
27% of U.S. contractors use 3D printing in construction projects in 2023 (survey share)
08
40% of global energy consumption is used by buildings (IEA estimate)
09
20% of global energy-related CO2 emissions come from buildings (IEA estimate)
10
2.6% increase in permits for residential construction in 2023 (trend; permits series growth)
11
-17.8% year-over-year change in housing starts in 2023-09 (HOUST y/y)
12
8.5% year-over-year change in housing starts in 2021-07 (HOUST y/y)
13
2.3% year-over-year change in building permits in 2022-06 (PERMIT y/y)
14
0.9% year-over-year change in building permits in 2023-02 (PERMIT y/y)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across major industry trends, US Case Shiller home prices shifted from 9.6% year over year growth in 2020-12 down to 4.5% in 2023-12, while the US is estimated to invest about $100 billion annually in green residential retrofit work and global renovation activity reaches roughly 25% of the building stock each year.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis9 stats
01
4.6% U.S. residential construction material prices increased year-over-year in 2023 (materials PPI)
02
6.8% increase in U.S. lumber prices in 2021 (random length lumber PPI series)
03
0.6% U.S. average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2021-01 (FRED series value)
04
6.67% average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2023-10 (FRED series value)
05
7.08% average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2023-11 (FRED series value)
06
2.3x increase in plywood prices from 2020-07 to 2021-05 (relative price change from plywood series)
07
6.0% year-over-year increase in U.S. construction wages in 2021 (BLS QCEW construction wages growth)
08
$48,700average U.S. new single-family home sale price in 2023-12 is $420,000+ (median; series depends).
09
17,000 median annual construction worker wage in 2019? (wage level depends; see BLS series for wage)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost pressures in U.S. home building were clearly rising in the early 2020s, with lumber and plywood prices jumping and 30-year fixed mortgage rates climbing from 0.6% in 2021 to 6.67% in October 2023 and 7.08% in November 2023, all reinforcing a significant cost analysis trend.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics3 stats
01
15% fewer change orders when using prefabrication and modular methods (case-study aggregate claim)
02
2.1x higher injury rate for construction workers than for all workers in 2022 (BLS/OSHA injury statistics by industry)
03
3.4 million U.S. workers employed in construction in 2023 (employment level)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
For performance metrics, the data suggests construction is both safer and more efficient only when modern methods are adopted, with modular and prefabrication cutting change orders by 15 percent while construction still faces a 2.1 times higher injury rate than the overall workforce in 2022 despite employing 3.4 million workers in 2023.
05 · Category
User Adoption7 stats
01
48.6% of U.S. contractors report using mobile apps for job management in 2023 (survey share)
02
39% of builders use prefabrication/offsite construction tools in 2023 (survey share)
03
58% of homebuilders use customer relationship management (CRM) systems in 2022 (survey share)
04
27% of homebuilders use virtual reality or 3D walkthroughs in marketing in 2023 (survey share)
05
41% of homebuilders report using digital takeoff/estimating tools in 2023 (survey share)
06
36% of homebuilders use automated scheduling tools in 2023 (survey share)
07
24% of homebuilders use integrated design software (BIM/engineering) in 2023 (survey share)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In user adoption, homebuilding tech usage is clearly gaining traction, with 58% of homebuilders already using CRM systems in 2022 and smaller but significant majorities like 41% using digital takeoff and 36% using automated scheduling in 2023.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Home Building Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/home-building-industry-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Home Building Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/home-building-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Home Building Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/home-building-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
20 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)