US Single-Family Permit-To-Completion Time Has Increased by 3 Months Since 2015

According to the US Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction, with additional analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the permit-to-completion time has been on an upward trend since 2015. Currently, it is almost 3 months longer than the average completion time in 2015.

This extended duration is largely attributable to a more stringent regulatory environment, ongoing supply-chain challenges, and a shortage of skilled labor, NAHB said.

The average completion time of a single-family house in 2023 was approximately 10.1 months, breaking down as 1.5 months for authorization to start construction and another 8.6 months to finish construction.

Among all single-family houses completed in 2023, homes built for sale required the shortest amount of time: 8.9 months from obtaining building permits to completion. Meanwhile, homes built by owners (custom builds) required the longest time, 15.2 months. Homes built by hired contractors took about 12.1 months, and homes built-for-rent took about 12.2 months from authorization to completion.

The average time from authorization to completion also varied across divisions in 2023. The division with the longest duration was New England at 13.9 months, followed by the Middle Atlantic at 13.2 months, the Mountain division at 11.4 months, and the Pacific division at 11.2 months. These four divisions exceeded the nation’s average of 10.1 months. The shortest period, 8.9 months, is registered in the South Atlantic division.

The average waiting period from permit to construction start varies from the shortest time of 0.9 months in the East North Central to the longest of 2 months in New England.