Newer Homes Are Coming to Market the Fastest

Newer Homes Are Coming to Market the Fastest

Builders are building more, even though overall housing inventories still feel tight. Builders in April constructed about 24% more homes than they did in April over the last couple of decades, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. Housing starts are likely to reach 1.6 million for all of 2021 and jump to 1.7 million in 2022, NAR projects.

Building permits are viewed as a gauge of future housing inventory. They provide an estimate of the number of new housing units that the local government has approved to be constructed soon. A single-family home typically takes about 10 to 12 months to build.

In April, 46% of metro areas issued more single-family building permits than the historical average.

NAR researchers analyzed 262 metro areas’ single-family building permit data. The following areas have issued the most and least single-family building permits over the 12 months from May 2020 to April 2021, according to NAR’s Economists’ Outlook blog.

Source:
Tracking Housing Construction at the Local Level: April 2021,” National Association of REALTORS® (June 7, 2021)
©National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission