Across the United States, a persistent shortage of housing has fueled an ongoing affordability crisis, particularly in high-growth metropolitan areas. Over the past several years, high housing costs have stretched budgets for both homebuyers and renters alike. From the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2025, the median home sales price rose by nearly $88,000, while rents continue to increase faster than the overall rate of inflation.
Although higher interest rates since 2022 have cooled the housing market somewhat, they have done little to address the underlying supply shortage. Most estimates place the shortfall between 2.5 and 5.5 million units, reflecting years of underbuilding relative to population growth. While existing home inventory has increased, it remains well below pre-pandemic norms. At the same time, new construction continues to face significant headwinds. As of June 2025, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index fell to 32, reflecting weakened builder confidence in the face of elevated mortgage rates and high construction costs.
In this challenging environment, some U.S. cities have taken more aggressive steps to expand their housing stock. This analysis conducted by Construction Coverage—an online resource for construction industry research and data—examines the pace of new home construction nationally, how long it typically takes to complete new housing, and which states and cities are leading in building the most new homes.
Here are some of the key findings from the report:
- The U.S. authorized approximately 1.5 million new housing units in 2024, a figure that aligns with the pre-2008 average but falls short of what’s needed to address a housing shortfall estimated between 2.5 and 5.5 million units.
- Housing construction timelines have lengthened, with a growing share of single-family homes facing delays both before and during construction. In 2024, 13% of projects took more than 13 months to complete—up from 9% in 2019.
- National permitting rates have declined, with new homes being authorized at a rate of 10.1 units per 1,000 existing homes, down from 11.7 in 2022. Only 13 states increased their total number of housing permits year-over-year.
- Idaho leads the nation in new construction activity, authorizing 21.2 new units per 1,000 existing homes—more than twice the national average—followed closely by high-growth states in the South and Mountain West, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Arizona.
How Many New Homes Are Built Each Year?
In 2024, just under 1.5 million new homes were authorized by building permits
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
In 2024, approximately 1.48 million new homes were authorized by building permits—just slightly above the pre-2008 historical average of 1.45 million units per year. While this figure suggests recent construction activity has returned to long-term norms, it overlooks the impact of more than a decade of underbuilding that followed the 2008 housing market collapse.
During the Great Recession and its aftermath, new home construction plummeted from a peak of 2.26 million units per year in mid-2005 to a low of just over half a million units at the beginning of 2009. From 2009 through most of the 2010s, investment in new housing remained well below historical averages, leaving a significant gap between housing supply and population growth. This period of underinvestment has had lasting effects. Although residential building permits have returned to historical norms, activity has declined notably since 2022 and remains insufficient to close the nation’s housing deficit.
How Long Do New Homes Take to Build?
After obtaining necessary permits, the typical new home takes 4–6 months to complete
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
After permits are issued, new homes in the U.S. usually take between four and six months to complete. However, even this typical timeline has been increasingly difficult to maintain. Despite a clear need for more housing, the construction industry continues to face challenges that hinder its ability to deliver new units efficiently. Labor shortages, supply chain issues, and elevated material costs have all contributed to slower project timelines and longer delays.
Census Bureau data shows that the time it takes to begin construction after a permit is issued has grown since before the pandemic. In 2019, 43% of single-family homes began construction prior to or in the same month as authorization. By 2024, that share had declined to 37%, while the share of projects taking four months or more to start rose from 6% to 10%. Similar delays are evident in the time it takes to finish construction once it begins. While nearly half (46%) of new single-family homes in 2024 were completed within the typical four- to six-month window, a growing share—13%—took more than 13 months to finish, up from 9% in 2019.
These cumulative delays reduce the pace at which new homes can be delivered to market. Even when permitting numbers are strong, production bottlenecks can constrain the actual number of units available to buy or rent.
Where Are the Most New Homes Being Built?
Idaho leads the nation in new home construction, building at a rate 2X faster than the U.S. average
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permit Survey and Population and Housing Unit Estimates data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
While housing construction has slowed in much of the country, some states and metropolitan areas continue to permit new homes at a significantly faster pace than others. In 2024, the national rate of new housing authorization stood at 10.1 units per 1,000 existing homes—down from 11.7 in 2022. Only 13 states saw an increase in the number of new housing units authorized compared to two years prior.
Leading the nation is Idaho, which authorized new housing at a rate of 21.2 units per 1,000 existing homes—more than twice the national average. Other fast-growing states in the Southeast and Mountain West also reported high construction rates. North Carolina and South Carolina, for example, each authorized nearly 19 new homes per 1,000 existing units in 2024. Utah and Arizona followed closely behind, despite year-over-year declines in total permits.
Among the nation’s largest metros, the Raleigh-Cary area in North Carolina ranked first with 28.8 new units per 1,000 existing homes, followed by Austin (28.6) and Dallas-Fort Worth (22.2). Despite recent slowdowns, many of these regions remain among the nation’s top markets for new housing development, reflecting ongoing demand and more favorable building conditions.
Below is a breakdown of the pace of new home construction for the top and bottom metropolitan areas and states. For complete results, see U.S. Cities Building the Most New Housing on Construction Coverage.
Cities Building the Most Homes
States Building the Most Homes
Methodology
Photo Credit: Ungvar / Shutterstock
To determine the locations building the most homes, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 Building Permit Survey, U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 Population and Housing Unit Estimates, and Zillow’s Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). The researchers ranked locations according to the number of new housing units authorized per 1,000 existing homes in 2024. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher total new housing units authorized in 2024 was ranked higher. Researchers also calculated the number of new housing units authorized per 1,000 existing homes in 2022, the total new housing units authorized in 2022, the percentage change in housing units authorized from 2022 to 2024, and the median home price in May 2024.
For relevance, only metropolitan areas with available data were included in the analysis. Additionally, metro areas were grouped into the following cohorts based on population size:
- Small metros: less than 350,000
- Midsize metros: 350,000–999,999
- Large metros: 1,000,000 or more
For complete results, see U.S. Cities Building the Most New Housing on Construction Coverage.
