Let’s Make a Game Plan
Boost your investment game with expert real estate insights. We'll keep you up to date on everything you need to know to be the smartest real estate investor you can be.
Zonda's recent report highlights the 50 largest new-home markets. Unsurprisingly, Texas and Florida dominate the list. Remarkably, Florida claims 13 of these top markets, while Texas boasts 4 of the top 5, including Dallas (No. 1) and Houston (No. 2).
Here are the top 10 largest housing metros for single-family new construction as measured by the number of new home closings in 2023 via ResiClub:
- Dallas, TX – 42,840
- Houston, TX – 32,791
- Phoenix, AZ – 21,784
- Austin, TX – 18,632
- San Antonio, TX – 17,002
- Atlanta, GA – 15,042
- Orlando, FL – 14,067
- Tampa, FL – 12,452
- Charlotte, NC – 11,338
- Raleigh, NC – 10,718
Our take
Multiple things are wrong with the housing market. First, we have a massive housing shortage. Realtor.com estimates that the gap between new household formations and housing starts to be 2.5 million housing units. Second, not enough housing is being built. Just to take apartment construction as an example, the National Association of Housing Builders (NAHB) says that “The pace of multifamily 5-plus unit starts [in 2024] are down 23.4% from a year ago. And on a year-to-date basis, multifamily 5-plus unit starts are down 36.3%.” Third, as this report from Zonda indicates, new construction isn’t widespread but concentrated in a few localized areas. To make any long-term progress on housing affordability, all three of these issues will have to be addressed.