Highlights of Annual 2009 Characters of New Housing

In 2009:

·        The average single-family house completed had 2,438 square feet. In 2008, the average single-family house had 2,519 square feet.

·        34% of the new single-family homes sold in the U.S. had vinyl siding as the principal type of exterior wall material.

·        88% of all single-family homes completed had air-conditioning. In the West, 69% of the new homes completed had air-conditioning.

·        34% of single-family homes completed had 4 or more bedrooms. 53% of them had 3 bedrooms.

·        Of the single-family homes completed with 4 or more bedrooms, 54% had 3 or more bathrooms.

·        17% of new single-family homes sold in the U.S. had a 3-or-more-car garage. In the Midwest 34% of the new homes sold had a 3-or-more car garage.

·        53% of single-family homes completed in the U.S. had 2 or more stories. In the Northeast, 81% of the homes completed had 2 or more stories.

·        49% of new single-family homes sold had 1 fireplace and 5% had 2 or more fireplaces.

·        The average new single-family home sold was built on a lot of 17,462 square feet. The average lot size for new homes sold in the Northeast was 35,176 square feet; for those in the West, it was 10,081 square feet.

·        62% of all new single-family homes sold used gas as the primary source of heating fuel, while 37% used electricity. In the South, 43% of the new homes sold used gas.

·        37% of all single-family homes completed had heat pumps installed as the primary type of heating system. Heat pumps accounted for 35% of heating systems installed in new homes inside metropolitan areas and for 52% of those installed in new homes outside of metropolitan areas.

·        60% of hot water or steam heating systems in completed single-family homes used gas, 12% used electricity, 21% used oil, and 6% used other fuel.

·        50,000 new single-family homes sold were designed as attached units, accounting for 13% of total new single-family home sales.

·        24% of all new single-family homes sold were financed by an FHA-insured loan. The proportion was 16% in 2008 and 4% in 2007.

·        The average sales price of new single-family homes sold was $270,900. The average sales price was $292,600 in 2008 and $313,600 in 2007.

·        The average price per square foot for new single-family homes sold was $83.89. Regionally, the average price per square foot was $110.40 in the Northeast, $83.70 in the Midwest, $76.77 in the South, and $101.74 in the West.  

·        274,000 units were completed in multifamily buildings. Of these, 66,000, or 24% were built for sale. In 2008, 301,000 units were completed in multifamily buildings. Of these, 101,000, or 34% were built for sale.

·        The average square footage of multifamily units completed and built for sale was 1,592.

·        14,000 multifamily buildings were completed. Of these, 32% had 20 units or more. In 1978, the first year these data were collected, 73,000 multifamily buildings were completed and 5% of them had 20 units or more.

·        14% of multifamily buildings completed had 4 or more floors. In 2008, this was 12% and in 2007, this was 9%.