While 1.4 million families celebrated groundbreaking ceremonies in the US last year, new home building is a complex global dance of rising costs, shifting materials, and persistent labor shortages that every future homeowner needs to understand.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the US saw 1,414,000 new housing starts, a 5.1% increase from 2022, primarily driven by single-family homes at 1,010,000 units
- Single-family housing permits in the US reached 980,000 units annualized in August 2024, up 2.8% from July
- Total US building permits for new residential construction hit 1,436,000 annualized in September 2024, down 2.5% month-over-month
- In 2023, average US new home construction cost was $428,870 per unit, up 6.2% from 2022
- Lumber prices contributed 15-20% to US single-family home costs in 2023, averaging $500 per 1,000 board feet
- Soft costs (design, permits) averaged 24.3% of total new home cost in 2023 US
- In 2023, US home building employed 1.1 million workers directly
- Construction laborers in new residential: 22% of total US construction workforce in 2023
- Carpenter employment in US residential construction: 105,000 in 2023 average
- New homes used 15% more lumber per unit in 2023 US vs 2019 due to size increase
- Softwood lumber consumption for new US single-family homes: 16,000 board feet average 2023
- Concrete usage in US new foundations: 50 cubic yards average per home 2023
- US new homes average size 2,235 sq ft in 2023, up 2% YoY
- Multifamily completions forecast to reach 450,000 units in US 2025
- New home sales in US Q3 2024: 676,000 annualized, up 4.8%
New home construction increased globally despite rising costs and labor shortages.
Building Permits and Housing Starts
- In 2023, the US saw 1,414,000 new housing starts, a 5.1% increase from 2022, primarily driven by single-family homes at 1,010,000 units
- Single-family housing permits in the US reached 980,000 units annualized in August 2024, up 2.8% from July
- Total US building permits for new residential construction hit 1,436,000 annualized in September 2024, down 2.5% month-over-month
- In Q2 2024, UK new home starts totaled 35,250 dwellings, a 5% rise from Q1
- Canada issued 244,587 new housing starts in 2023, up 2% from 2022, with urban starts at 232,424
- Australia approved 168,100 new dwellings in 2023-24, a 3.2% increase year-on-year
- EU-27 new residential building permits issued 1,238,000 units in 2022, down 1.5% from 2021
- In Q3 2024, US single-family permits were 956,000 annualized, up 1.9% from Q2
- New Zealand consented 43,400 new dwellings in year ending June 2024, down 4% from prior year
- India urban building permits for residential units exceeded 500,000 in FY 2023-24 across major cities
- Japan started 847,000 new housing units in 2023, a 1.2% decline from 2022
- South Korea issued permits for 412,000 new apartments in 2023, up 8% YoY
- In 2023, Florida led US states with 189,000 new housing starts
- Texas new single-family permits reached 163,000 annualized in mid-2024
- California multifamily starts totaled 68,000 units in 2023
- In England, new build starts rose to 142,000 homes in 2023/24, up 12% from prior year
- Germany approved 285,000 new residential units in 2023, down 11% YoY
- France housing starts hit 348,000 units in 2023, a 4% increase
- US Midwest region permits averaged 1,200 per 100k population in 2023
- Northeast US single-family starts: 98,000 units in 2023
- Southwest US permits surged 15% to 450,000 annualized in Q3 2024
- Scotland new house starts: 19,500 in 2023, up 5%
- Brazil approved 650,000 new housing units under MCMV program in 2023
- Mexico new home starts: 120,000 units in urban areas 2023
- US permits for structures with 50+ units: 52,000 annualized in Sep 2024
- Permits under construction in US: 1,004,000 units as of Sep 2024
- Single-family authorizations in US South: 680,000 annualized Q3 2024
- UK private enterprise starts: 28,900 in Q2 2024
- Canada single-detached starts: 112,000 in 2023
- Australia detached house approvals: 81,000 in 2023-24
Building Permits and Housing Starts Interpretation
In a global housing dance that's more lurching than leaping, America flirts with building back—if lumber and interest rates allow—while Britain cautiously tips its hard hat upward, and Europe looks on like a sullen neighbor weighing a renovation, proving new starts are often less a boom and more a hopeful, patchy hammering against the pressures of economy, policy, and stubborn reality.
Construction Costs
- In 2023, average US new home construction cost was $428,870 per unit, up 6.2% from 2022
- Lumber prices contributed 15-20% to US single-family home costs in 2023, averaging $500 per 1,000 board feet
- Soft costs (design, permits) averaged 24.3% of total new home cost in 2023 US
- Finished lot prices rose to $59,000 per unit in 2023, 18% of total US home cost
- Framing costs for new US homes averaged $35,000 in 2023, up 4% YoY
- Foundation costs represented 10.5% of new single-family home build in 2023 US
- UK new build homes averaged £350,000 construction cost in 2023
- Labor costs in new US home construction hit 30.6% of total in 2023
- Canada new home build cost index rose 5.8% YoY to Q2 2024
- Material costs for new Australian homes up 7.2% in 2023-24
- EU residential construction cost index increased 4.1% in 2023
- Plumbing fixtures cost $12,500 average per new US home in 2023
- Electrical systems averaged $14,600 in new US single-family homes 2023
- Site work costs 7.8% of total new home build, $33,000 average US 2023
- Appliances contributed $11,200 to new US home costs in 2023
- Cabinetry and countertops cost $18,000 average in 2023 new builds US
- Roofing materials averaged $12,000 per new US home in 2023
- Windows and doors: $15,500 average cost in 2023 new single-family US
- Insulation costs $5,200 per new US home in 2023
- Exterior finishes $22,000 average in 2023 US new homes
- Interior finishes $45,000 average per new US home 2023
- Land development costs up 10% to $70,000 per lot in Sunbelt US 2023
- Financing costs averaged 6.5% of total new home cost US 2023
- Profit margin for builders squeezed to 9.1% in 2023 US new homes
- General overhead 11.4% of new US home costs in 2023
- New Zealand house construction costs rose 4.5% YoY to June 2024
- India residential construction cost index up 6.8% in 2023-24
- US construction input prices up 4.2% YoY in Sep 2024
- UK output prices for new housing work up 3.1% YoY Q2 2024
Construction Costs Interpretation
While lumber, labor, and even the kitchen sink are pushing new home costs relentlessly upward worldwide, the builder's ultimate profit is getting squeezed tighter than a stud in a warped frame.
Labor Force
- In 2023, US home building employed 1.1 million workers directly
- Construction laborers in new residential: 22% of total US construction workforce in 2023
- Carpenter employment in US residential construction: 105,000 in 2023 average
- Average hourly wage for US construction supervisors: $38.50 in 2023
- UK new build sector employed 225,000 workers in 2023
- Canada residential construction jobs: 450,000 in 2023, up 3%
- Shortage of skilled trades: 80% of US builders reported carpenter shortages in 2024 NAHB survey
- Electricians in new home building: average wage $32/hr US 2023
- Plumbers hourly wage averaged $35 in US residential construction 2023
- Labor productivity in US home building down 5% since 2020
- Australia construction workforce grew to 1.2 million in 2023, 20% in residential
- EU construction employment: 6.5 million in residential sector 2023
- Turnover rate in US home building labor: 25% annually in 2023
- Immigrants comprise 30% of US construction workforce in 2023
- Training hours per new apprentice: 2,000 annually in US union programs 2023
- Female participation in US construction: 11% in 2023, up from 9% in 2020
- Overtime hours in residential construction averaged 4.5 hrs/week US 2023
- Job openings in US construction: 383,000 in Sep 2024
- Union membership in US construction: 12.6% in 2023
- Age distribution: 25% of US construction workers over 55 in 2023
- Injury rate in residential construction: 3.2 per 100 workers US 2023
- Wage growth for laborers: 5.1% YoY in US residential 2023
- Contractor subcontractors: 85% of new home labor US 2023
- Hours worked per new home: 1,800 average US 2023
- Germany construction labor shortage: 350,000 vacancies in 2023
- India construction workforce: 75 million, 40% in housing 2023
- UK bricklayers shortage: 42,000 needed by 2027
Labor Force Interpretation
While building our future homes, we’re facing an ironic crisis where the foundations are poured by a dwindling, aging, and stretched-thin workforce that we’re desperately trying to rebuild faster than the houses themselves.
Market Trends and Forecasts
- US new homes average size 2,235 sq ft in 2023, up 2% YoY
- Multifamily completions forecast to reach 450,000 units in US 2025
- New home sales in US Q3 2024: 676,000 annualized, up 4.8%
- UK new build completions: 212,000 homes forecast for 2024
- Canada new home market absorption rate: 75% within 3 months in 2024
- Global new residential construction market to grow 5.2% CAGR to 2030
- US Sunbelt states to account for 60% of new home growth through 2030
- Median new US home price: $417,500 in Sep 2024
- Inventory of new homes for sale: 285,000 units US Sep 2024, 4.2 months supply
- Australia dwelling approvals forecast 170,000 annually to 2028
- EU new housing demand gap: 4 million units by 2030
- Modular/prefab share in new US homes: projected 15% by 2030 from 5% now
- New Zealand house prices for new builds up 3% YoY 2024
- India urban housing shortage: 18.78 million units in 2023
- Builder confidence index NAHB: 43 in Oct 2024
- Single-family starts forecast 970,000 US 2025
- Rental new construction: 400,000 units planned US 2025
- Aging-in-place features in 70% of new US homes 2024 survey
- Smart home tech standard in 65% new builds US 2024
- Net-zero ready homes: 10% of new US luxury builds 2024
- Migration-driven demand: Southeast US 40% of new starts growth 2023-2024
- Oversupply risk in multifamily: 2025 completions peak then decline US
- UK Help to Buy scheme impact: 25% of new sales 2023
- China new urban housing starts down 22% YoY 2023
Market Trends and Forecasts Interpretation
While we're obsessively building bigger, smarter, and more luxurious homes that fewer people can afford, the global housing market is a bewildering patchwork of desperate shortages, migration-fueled booms, and the looming specter of oversupply, all held together by the thin hope that modular construction and aging-in-place features might somehow solve a math problem we're fundamentally failing.
Materials Usage
- New homes used 15% more lumber per unit in 2023 US vs 2019 due to size increase
- Softwood lumber consumption for new US single-family homes: 16,000 board feet average 2023
- Concrete usage in US new foundations: 50 cubic yards average per home 2023
- Steel framing adopted in 5% of new US homes in 2023, saving 20% on lumber
- Asphalt shingles covered 90% of new US roofs in 2023
- Vinyl siding used in 52% of new US single-family homes 2023
- Energy-efficient windows: double-pane in 85% of new US homes 2023
- Insulation R-value average 38 for attics in new US homes 2023
- LED lighting fixtures in 95% of new US homes 2023
- Quartz countertops in 60% of new kitchens US 2023
- Tankless water heaters in 25% of new US homes 2023, up from 15% in 2020
- Recycled content in new home materials: 10% average US 2023
- OSB usage: 8,000 sq ft per new US home 2023
- Drywall consumption: 7,500 sq ft per single-family home US 2023
- HVAC systems: ductless mini-splits in 15% new US homes 2023
- Solar panels on 12% of new US single-family homes 2023
- Fiber cement siding: 25% market share in new US homes 2023
- Laminate flooring in 40% of new home main living areas US 2023
- Low-VOC paints used in 70% of new US interiors 2023
- Composite decking: 30% of new decks in US homes 2023
- UK new homes timber frame construction: 80% in 2023
- Canada asphalt roofing granules recycled rate: 98% in new builds 2023
- EU timber certification: 75% of wood in new homes FSC in 2023
- Australia brick usage: 1.2 million sqm in new housing 2023
Materials Usage Interpretation
The modern American home is a larger, lumber-hungry machine trying to green itself one LED bulb and quartz slab at a time, while the rest of the world builds differently, recycles more, and uses far less wood.
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