According to analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) based on 2021 American Community Survey data and single-family permit numbers, the majority of single-family home building has been taking place in counties with the lowest homeownership rates. While this may seem counterintuitive, those counties are also home to the highest population densities.
NAHB's data reveals that 53% of single-family building occurred in large metro areas with lower homeownership rates, while rural areas with higher ownership rates saw a slower pace of home building. The pandemic saw a shift in single-family construction away from high-density areas as people moved to suburbs with higher homeownership rates. As a result, the market share for single-family construction in low-homeownership counties fell below 40% in Q2 2023, NAHB's Eye on Housing reports.
With over half of the population living in relatively lower homeownership areas, single-family home building is correspondingly concentrated in places with a larger number of households. Counties with the highest homeownership rates make up the smallest share of single-family construction.
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