Trends in New Home Building
December 16,
2016 by Jane Chero in General 
This is the third factoid in a series of six factoids detailing trends in new home building. New home purchases spur new home furnishings purchases like no other life event. As home building continues its slow but steady comeback from the recession, new trends in home building are emerging creating opportunity in many home furnishings product areas. According the new HUD report, single-family home building is up 23 percent since 2009 and for the first half of this year, new home completions are up 14 percent from the first half of 2015.
Trends include an increase in bigger multi-story homes with more bedrooms, baths, and multiple patios, porches and decks on increasingly smaller lots. Other trends point to the ballooning senior population downsizing to age-restricted communities with less interest in some design features such as fireplaces, but more interest in comfort features.
As houses have increased in size, more bedrooms have become the norm. Over 53 percent of new single-family homes built in 2015 have four or more bedrooms – up from 38.2 percent in 2009. Three-bedroom homes, once the majority in new constructions, have decreased from 52.6 percent to 40.7 percent since the recession – a drop of 23 percent. Homes with more bedrooms create product opportunities, not only for bedroom furniture, but also home office or other alternative uses.
Along with more bedrooms, a big jump has occurred post recession in the number of bathrooms. The percentage of new homes with three baths or more grew by 105 percent – from 23.6 percent of new houses to 41.1 percent in six years. The next factoid in this series will focus on the number of stories and the increasing amounts of outdoor space.
*New single-family homes completed for sale
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Characteristics of New Single-Family Houses 2015”