Cost to Construct a Home Rose Significantly Over Last Two Years
Construction costs accounted for 64.4% of the average price of a new home in 2024 compared to 60.8% in 2022, according to NAHB’s most recent Cost of Construction Survey.
The latest finding marks a record high for construction costs since the inception of the series in 1998 and the fifth instance where construction costs represented over 60% of the total sales price.
Broad inflation in the global economy since 2022 — particularly in building material prices — is largely to blame for the increased construction costs.
The finished lot was the second largest cost at 13.7% of the sales price, down more than four percentage points from 17.8% in 2022. The average builder profit margin was 11.% in 2024, up from 10.1% in 2022.
Explore the interactive dashboard below to view the costs and percentage of construction costs for eight stages of construction and their 36 components.
For more on the survey, please see this Eye on Housing post from NAHB economists.
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Building a new single-family home took less time in 2025 compared to the previous three years. On average, it now takes 8.8 months from start to finish. That time includes 1.4 months for authorization to start construction and another 7.4 months to finish construction.
The average time needed to complete construction of a multifamily building after obtaining authorization edged down in 2025, according to the 2025 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau.
The U.S. labor market rebounded in August, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 162,000 and upward revisions adding 55,000 jobs to June and July. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, as both employment and the labor force participation rate rose over the month.