Townhouse Market Share in 2022Q4 Reaches Highest Since in 1985

According to the US Census Bureau’s most recent Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design data, with additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), during 2022Q4, single-family attached starts totaled 37,000. This is 8% below 2021Q4. The NAHB notes that over the course of 2022, townhouse construction starts totaled 148,000 units, which is relatively unchanged from 2021.

Using a one-year moving average, the market share of newly built townhouses increased to 15% of all single-family starts in 2022Q4. The NAHB reports that as denser areas reopen following the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the townhouse market rebounded. Additionally, as the spec single-family building market slowed in recent quarters due to higher interest rates, the townhouse construction market share has increased. In fact, the current 15% market share is the highest since 1985.

The peak market share over the last two decades for townhouse construction, prior to 2022Q4, was set in 2008Q1 when the percentage reached 14.6%, on a one-year moving average basis, of total single-family construction. This high point was set after a fairly consistent increase in the share beginning in the early 1990’s.