2024 New Single-Family Starts by Census Division

Despite persistently high mortgage rates, elevated financing costs for builders, and a shortage of buildable lots, single-family starts rebounded in 2024, following two straight years of declines. According to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of the 2024 Survey of Construction (SOC), a total of 1,009,315 new single-family units started construction nationwide. This is a 7% increase compared to 2023.

Among the nine Census divisions, the South Atlantic division led the nation with 344,313 starts in 2024, representing a 34% share. The second highest was the West South Central division at 187,690 starts, followed by the Mountain division with 125,911 starts. Collectively, these three divisions, covering 20 states and Washington, D.C., and representing approximately 41% of the United States, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total new single-family housing starts in 2024.

Meanwhile, there were 99,166 new single-family units started in the Pacific division (10% of total starts) and 81,106 in the East North Central division (8%) in 2024. The other four divisions, including East South Central, West North Central, Middle Atlantic, and New England, accounted for the remaining 17% of the total new single-family housing starts.

In 2024, seven out of nine divisions experienced year-over-year growth in single-family starts. The Middle Atlantic division had the strongest performance among all regions, posting a 22% annual increase. In addition, five out of nine divisions surpassed the U.S. growth rate of 7%. Conversely, both the East South Central and West South Central divisions recorded declines in single-family housing starts.

Compared to the previous year, the New England and West South Central divisions experienced a deceleration in growth, while the East South Central division marked its second consecutive year of decreases. In contrast, the remaining six divisions reported an acceleration in growth. Despite regional disparities, the overall national trend in 2024 reflected a resilient housing market, even in the face of ongoing economic and supply-side challenges.