Single-Family Construction Speeds Up

Single-family home building appears to be getting quicker. In 2024, it took 9.1 months on average to build a single-family home, including 1.4 months for authorization to start construction and another 7.6 months to finish construction, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by the National Association of Home Builders. This timeframe is down by one month compared with 2023, but it is two months longer than in 2015.

Single-family homes in new-construction communities took the least amount of time to build, with the typical timeline at just 7.6 months from permit to completion. Meanwhile, homes built by owners had the longest timeline at 15.1 months.

The average time from authorization to completion also varies across divisions. The division with the longest duration was the Middle Atlantic (13.7 months), followed by New England (13.1 months), the Pacific division (10.8 months), the Mountain division (10 months), and the East North Central division (9.4 months) in 2024. These five divisions exceeded the nation’s average of 9.1 months. The shortest period, 7.8 months, is registered in the South Atlantic division. The average waiting period from permit to construction start varies from the shortest time of 0.9 months in the East North Central to the longest of 2.1 months in the Pacific division.