New Houses Everywhere: 25% of Houses on the Market Are New Construction

• May 3rd 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

One in four houses on the market was new construction in the first quarter of 2021, the largest share on record according to a new report. 

25.7% of houses for sale during the first quarter of the year were new construction, per Redfin, up from 20.4% a year ago.

In addition to fewer homeowners putting their houses on the market, this shift toward new construction reflects an increase in homebuilding.

“Building homes has become more attractive and profitable during the pandemic due to record-low mortgage rates and red-hot homebuyer demand,” Redfin Lead Economist Taylor Marr said in a statement. “At the same time, many homeowners have opted to stay put and refinance or remodel their existing homes instead of selling them, allowing new-construction homes to take up a larger portion of the market.”

In March, housing starts in the U.S. increased almost 20% month-over-month, hitting the highest level since 2006. But the homebuilding industry has also had to contend with rising lumber prices, recently identified as adding almost $36,000 to new home prices.

In the DC area, 15.8% of single-family homes for sale last quarter were new construction, and there was a 21.2% year-over-year increase in building permits for single-family homes.

The 82 metropolitan areas studied had to have at least 750,000 residents and 50 sales of new single-family homes in the first quarter. The study used MLS and county data to determine the share of new homes on the market, and used the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey for permit data.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new-houses-everywhere-25-of-houses-on-the-market-are-new/18209.