Building a home in Florida
CHICAGO – Aug. 17, 2016 – The average time it takes to complete a new single-family home is seven months in Florida and nationally, according to recent Census Bureau data. That completion time includes nearly a month for getting the permit to start the project – 27 days in Florida – and then another 6 months to complete the construction.
Houses built for sale took the shortest amount of time – 6 months to complete after obtaining building permits. On the other hand, homes built by owners averaged the longest time at nearly a year. Homes built for rent averaged about 9 months from permit to completion, the data shows.
Homebuyers generally have the longest waits for a new home in the New England area, which had the longest time from permit to completion at 10 months. On the other hand, the Mountain region had the shortest amount of time at 6 months. The region also has the shortest waiting period from permit to construction start.
Breakdown by region of the average months from permit to completion of a new single-family home
- Pacific: 8 months
- Mountain: 6 months
- West North Central: 8 months
- West South Central: 7 months
- East North Central: 8 months
- East South Central: 8 months
- New England: 10 months
- Middle Atlantic: 10 months
- South Atlantic: 6 months
Average days by region from permit to start on a new home
- Pacific: 31 days
- Mountain: 15 days
- West North Central: 20 days
- West South Central: 35 days
- East North Central: 23 days
- East South Central: 25 days
- New England: 28 days
- Middle Atlantic: 27 days
- South Atlantic: 27 days
Homes in metro areas took, on average, nearly 7.5 months to complete – about 2 months shorter than homes started in non-metro areas.
The 2015 Census data also found that 66 percent of single-family homes sold while under construction, 32 percent sold before construction started, and 12 percent sold within one month of completion.
The percentage of single-family homes completed last year that were not yet sold was only 6 percent, the same percentage as the first quarter of 2016.
Source: “Time to Build a Single-Family Home in 2015,” National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog (July 20, 2016)
© Copyright 2016 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
