Townhouse Construction Market Share Increases

The total construction of townhouses was up on a yearly basis during this year’s third quarter.

Based on the NAHB analysis of Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, the total for single-family attached starts is 20,000 for the quarter, which is a 17 percent leap from a year ago. Townhouse construction during the most recent four quarters accounted for 70,000, which is slightly higher from the four quarters before that with a total of 69,000.

The current market share of townhouses, using a one-year moving average, is now at 11 percent of all single-family starts, a percentage slightly higher than the previous quarter.

Townhouse construction peaked in market share over the last two decades during the first quarter of 2008 when it reached 14.6 percent. This was attainted after there was a fair consistent increase in their share, which started in the early 1990s.

Although their market share was greatly reduced during the Great Recession, they are expended to rise in the succeeding years along with occasional fluctuations.

Nevertheless, townhouse construction is expected to continue its positive path especially now that a lot of homebuyers are searching for homes in medium density residential neighborhoods, particularly those with a variety of amenities to offer with walkable environments.

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American Housing Survey Reveals 87 Percent Of US Housing Units Occupied

Based on the 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS) report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau last month, approximately 87 percent out of the 133 million total residential housing units in the United States in 2013 are occupied.

Since 2011, the number of occupied housing units had an increase of 413,000. During that time, 35 percent of the housing units were occupied by renters while 65 percent were occupied by homeowners.

The median size of all single-family detached housing units in 2013 was 1,800 square feet, with a median lot size of .25 acres acccording to AHS. Such lot size shows a significant reduction in the lot sizes compared from 1973 when the first year the AHS was sponsored by HUD and done by the Census Bureau. At that time, .36 acres was the median lot size of a single-family detached housing unit.

Furthermore, the AHS reported a reduction in the monthly costs for all occupied housing units from 2011 to 2013 from $927 to $896. The owners’ median monthly costs decreased from $1,008 to $934, while the renters’ cost slight increased from $845 to $850.

As for the good news, according to the AHS, the number of homes reported to have moderate to severe physical problems especially in their electrical, heating or plumbing systems have reduced from 2011 to 2013. In 2013, there were four million homes with moderate physical problems while about two million homes had severe ones.