Record Share of US Spec Homes Built on Smaller Lots in 2024
Shrinking Lots: Spec Building New Norm
According to the US Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction (SOC), with analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the share of smaller lots remained at a record high in 2024. Two out of three new single-family detached homes sold were built on lots under 9,000 square feet (roughly one-fifth of an acre), while 40% were on lots under 7,000 square feet (less than one-sixth of an acre). These figures match the record highs set in 2023.
NAHB notes that since the Census Bureau began tracking this data in 1999, about 46% of new for-sale single-family detached homes have been built on lots under 9,000 square feet. This share hovered around 48%, never exceeding 50%, until 2011. A clear shift toward smaller lots in speculatively built (“spec”) homes emerged during the sluggish housing recovery following the Great Recession. Over that period, the share of spec homes on lots of one-fifth of an acre or less jumped from 47% to 61%.
This trend continued during the post-pandemic housing boom, with smaller lots gaining another 4 percentage points over the past five years.
FEA compiles the Wood Markets News from various 3rd party sources to provide readers with the latest news impacting forest product markets. Opinions or views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of FEA.