Builders continued pushing to meet unprecedented demand for single-family homes as the latest U.S. Census Bureau report showed housing starts hit its highest pace since 2007.
Single-family housing starts were up 27% year over year in November at 1.55 million starts, while permits for single-family homes — a leading indicator of future starts — increased 22% year over year.
“The continued rise in housing starts signals the single-family sector will lead the way for new-home construction, said First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi in a statement. “2021 may be the year of the home builder as a massive housing shortage, coupled with demographic and behavioral trends favoring single-family homes, sets the stage for builders to ramp up construction.
National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz wrote in a blog post that the growth for single-family construction was a true bright spot amid economic challenges in 2020, with single-family starts up 10% year-to-date and posting the best year since the Great Recession. “However, the backlog continues to grow, with the number of single-family homes permitted but not started construction up 16.3% from November 2019 to November 2020 as material delays and higher costs hold back building.”
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