By Robert Dietz | Eye On Housing
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates that the number of custom home building starts (homes built on an owner’s land, with either the owner or a builder acting as the general contractor) set a post-recession high for construction starts during the third quarter of 2016. There were 49,000 total custom starts for the quarter, compared to 47,000 for the third quarter of 2015.
Over the course of the last four quarters, there were 169,000 total custom single-family home starts, an increase of almost 8% over the prior four quarters. Note that this definition of custom home building does not include homes intended for sale, so the analysis uses a narrow definition of the sector.