
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.
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New housing units per 10k: 72.6
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Total new housing units: 154,711
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Share of new housing units that are multi-family: 35.5%
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Total value of new housing units (millions): $33,636
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Median home value: $243,527
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5-year population growth: 8.9%
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
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New housing units per 10k: 41.9
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Total new housing units: 1,370,347
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Share of new housing units that are multi-family: 37.7%
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Total value of new housing units (millions): $276,611
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Median home value: $240,224
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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