Share of Wood-Framed Homes Dips in 2023

Trends
Published

Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for completed single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of 2023 Census Bureau data. For 2023 completions, 93% of new homes were wood-framed, another 7% were concrete-framed homes, and less than half a percent were steel-framed.

On a count basis, there were 930,000 wood-framed homes completed in 2023. This was a 3% decrease compared to the 2022 total. The wood-framed market share decreased to 93% in 2023, after it increased for three consecutive years from 2019 (90%) to 2022 (94%). As noted above, steel-framed homes are relatively uncommon, with 3,000 housing completions in 2023, the same amount as the 2021 and 2022 completions.

Meanwhile, the concrete-framed market share increased from 6% in 2022 to 7% in 2023. On a count basis, there were 65,000 concrete-framed homes completed in 2023, up 3% from the previous year. This is the first increase after three straight years of declines (down 13% in 2020, 5% in 2021 and 11% in 2022).

Jing Fu, NAHB director of forecasting and analysis, provides more in this Eye on Housing post.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Advocacy | Tax Reform

May 20, 2025

Podcast: One Big, Beautiful Podcast – NAHB Talks Tax Bill

On the latest episode of NAHB’s podcast, Housing Developments, CEO Jim Tobin and COO Paul Lopez are joined by AVP of Government Affairs J.P. Delmore to dive into the “big, beautiful” tax bill that’s been introduced.

Membership

May 20, 2025

Why You Should Apply to Be the Next National Associate Chair

Applications to serve as the next National Associate Chair are now open through Sunday, July 13.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

May 21, 2025

Gains for Multifamily Missing Middle over Last Year

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties.

Economics

May 20, 2025

Single-Family Home Size Trending Higher

An expected impact of the virus crisis was a need for more residential space, as people used homes for more purposes including work. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest rates reached historic lows. However, as interest rates increased in 2022 and 2023, and housing affordability worsened, the demand for home size has trended lower.

Economics

May 20, 2025

Slight Gains for Townhouse Construction

Townhouse construction expanded more than 2 percent on a year-over-year basis per data from the first quarter of 2025.