NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building gained market share during 2022.
There were 44,000 total custom building starts during the fourth quarter of the year. This marks a 10% decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 as the overall home building market softened.
Nonetheless, over the course of 2022, custom housing starts totaled 203,000 homes, a 4% gain compared to the 2021 total (195,000).
After market share declines due to a rise in spec building in the wake of the pandemic, the market share for custom homes has increased. As measured on a one-year moving average, the market share of custom home building, in terms of total single-family starts, has increased to 21%. This is down from a recent high of 31.5% set during the second quarter of 2009.
Note that this definition of custom home building does not include homes intended for sale, so the analysis in this post uses a narrow definition of the sector. It represents home construction undertaken on a contract basis for which the builder does not hold tax basis in the structure during construction.
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