As the COVID-19 pandemic spurred
Since late 2019, the construction of new single-family residences has noticeably shifted away from large urban cores and their suburbs toward outer counties and rural areas, according to the association's Home Building Geography Index. The share of single-family constructions in large metro communities declined to 41.6% in the second quarter this year, from 44.5% in the final three months of 2019, the last full quarter prior to COVID-19 onset.
Over that time, builders and buyers focused more on outer counties and
"Housing demand has shifted from these higher-density core areas to low-density markets, where homes are larger and more affordable," wrote Na Zhao, senior economist at NAHB. "At the beginning of the pandemic, homebuyers desired more personal space for the work-from-home and remote-learning models."
With
But recent reports of a cooldown have left few
A similar move away from large urban cores occurred in multifamily construction. In the second quarter of 2022 in core and inner suburban counties the share of multifamily home building decreased to 65.7% from 68.8% in late 2019.
The large urban core's loss of share was redistributed toward smaller metropolitan communities, which saw an increase to 22.9% from 20.8%, and outer counties, where multifamily construction grew to 7.9% from 6.8%. Rural multifamily construction remained flat over the period, edging down to 3.5% from a 3.6% share.