Florida Is Investing 4th Most in New Housing

New housing construction in the U.S. is slowing down, which isn’t good for families already struggling to afford their first home. Even though multi-family dwellings have accounted for the lion’s share of new home construction growth since the recession, the shift away from single-family homes has failed to lower prices. Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that the median sale price for new homes in the U.S. reached a record high of $348,200 at the start of 2020.

While at the national level, investment in new housing largely ebbs and flows with the broader economy, at the state and local level, it is tightly coupled with population growth. States in the South and West, which have experienced above-average population growth in recent years, are investing the most in new housing. New residential construction per capita in Idaho and Utah, in particular, exceed the national rate of 41.9 units per 10,000 residents by more than 100 percent. By contrast, states in the Northeast—many of which have seen their populations stagnate or decline—are constructing the fewest new homes per capita.

To find which states are investing the most in new housing, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed building permit data from the U.S. Census Bureau and home price data from Zillow. For each state, the researchers calculated the number of new housing units per 10,000 residents. They also looked at the share of new housing units that are multi-family, the total value of new home construction, the median home value, and the five-year population growth.

The analysis found that 154,711 new homes were built in Florida in 2019. For every 10,000 residents, Florida built 72.6 new housing units in 2019, which is the 4th most among all U.S. states. Here is a summary of the date for Florida:

• New housing units per 10k: 72.6

• Total new housing units: 154,711

• Share of new housing units that are multi-family: 35.5%

• Total value of new housing units (millions): $33,636

• Median home value: $243,527

• 5-year population growth: 8.9%

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

• New housing units per 10k: 41.9

• Total new housing units: 1,370,347

• Share of new housing units that are multi-family: 37.7%

• Total value of new housing units (millions): $276,611

• Median home value: $240,224

• 5-year population growth: 3.5%

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results for all states, you can find the original report on Construction Coverage’s website: https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-investing-the-most-in-new-housing-2020