The new home construction industry saw another dismal year in 2008 with decreases in nearly every category, but many builders stayed positive and focused on cutting costs and surviving the downturn. Below are housing industry statistics for 2008, set up in a Question – Answer format, which include information about construction, sales, housing starts, the year’s top home builders and industry award winners.
New Home Construction Statistics FAQs
How many new homes were sold in 2008?
There were an estimated 482,000 new homes sold in 2008, which is 37.8% less than the 776,000 new homes that were sold in 2007.
What was the number of new homes completed in 2008?
In 2008, approximately 1,116,600 new housing units were completed. (25.7% less than the 1,502,800 new home completions in ’07)
How many new homes began construction in 2008?
There were approximately 904,300 housing units started in 2008. (33.3% less than the 1,355,000 housing starts in ’07)
How many new homes were authorized by building permits in 2008?
There were approximately 892,500 units authorized by building permits in 2008. (36.2% less than the 1,398,400 housing units that were authorized in ’07)
How many months of new home inventory was there in December 2008?
There was an estimated 12.9 months of new house inventory available in December 2008.
What was the median sales price of a new house in December of 2008?
The median sales price of a new home in December of 2008 was $206,500; in December 2007, the median sales price of a new home was $219,200.
What was the average price of a new house sold in December 2008?
The average sales price of new homes sold in December 2008 was $246,900; in December 2007, the average sales price of a new house was $267,300.
In what region were most new houses completed?
51% of all new homes were completed in the Southern region of the United States.
In 2008, how many housing units were completed in different regions throughout the United States?
Northeast – 112,300 total units
Midwest – 175,600 total units
South – 565,400 total units
West – 263,400 total units
What percentage of new homes completed in 2008 had air conditioning?
Almost 90% of all new houses completed in the United States in 2008 had air conditioning.
What percent of all new homes sold in 2008 were attached single-family homes.
Attached single-family homes accounted for 15% of all new houses sold in 2008.
What was the average price per square foot of homes sold in 2008?
The average price per square foot of a home sold in 2008 was $88.55; in 2007, the average price per square foot of a single-family home was $92.51.
How many new houses were financed with FHA loans in 2008?
In 2008, FHA loans financed 16% of all new houses sold; FHA loans financed only 4% of all new homes sold in ’05, ’06 and ’07.
2008 Big Builders
Who was America’s largest home builder in 2008?
D.R. Horton Homes was America’s largest home builder in terms of total house closings with 23,915, but Pulte Homes earned the most revenue in 2008 – $6.289 billion.
Who were the top 5 home builders in 2008 based on home closings?
1. D.R. Horton – 23,915 closings
2. Pulte – 21,022 closings
3. Centex - 18,241 closings
4. Lennar – 15,735 closings
5. KB - 12,438 closings
Who were the top 5 home builders in 2008 based on revenue earned?
1. Pulte - $6.289 billion
2. D.R. Horton – $5,822 billion
3. Centex – $5.318 billion
4. Lennar – $4.575 billion
5. NVR – $3.693 billion
Who were the top 5 Private Home Builders in 2008 based on home closings?
1. Habitat for Humanity – 5,459 closings
2. Shea Homes – 3,225 closings
3. David Weekley Homes- 3,213 closings
4. The Villages of Lake-Sumter – 2,238 closings
5. Woodside Homes – 2,072 closings
Who were the top 5 Private Home Builders in 2008 based on revenue earned?
1. Habitat for Humanity – $1.481 billion
2. Shea Homes – $1.4 billion
3. David Weekley Homes – $982 million
4. The Villages of Lake-Sumter – $696 million
5. Woodside Homes – $655 million
New Home Construction Industry Awards
Who won the 2008 America’s Best Builders Award?
In 2008, Drees Homes (Kentucky) and London Bay Homes (Florida) shared the award.
Which home builder won Professional Builder’s 2008 Builder of the Year Award?
Veridian Homes earned Professional Builder’s builder of the year award in ’08.
What Builders were listed on Fortune’s 100 Best Places to work in 2008?
David Weekley Homes was the only home builder on Fortune’s 2008 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work. The builder was 17th on the list of 100 with 1,450 employees.
Who won the 2008 Energy Value Housing Award?
In 2008, Aspen Homes of Colorado won the builder of the year award and the gold award in 3 categories – production, affordable and custom. In addition, Cherokee Investment Partners, Ferrier Builders, Fireside Home Construction, Stitt Energy Systems, Veridian Homes (2) and Wilshire Homes won a gold award for their categories.
*The Energy Value Housing Award is awarded to multiple home builders depending on climate and category. Aspen Homes of Colorado received the most awards (3) and was named Builder of the Year.
Which home builder won the People’s Choice Energy Value Housing Award in 2008?
In 2008, Stitt Energy Systems, Inc. won the People’s Choice Energy Value Housing Award.
Which home builders received a 2008 ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence?
Ivey Residential, Ideal Homebuilders, Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and Winton/Flair Custom homes received an ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence in 2008.
Who received the most awards from J.D. Power and Associates for outstanding Customer Satisfaction Ratings?
Pulte Homes received the most awards with a total of six in Albuquerque, Fort Myers Naples, Jacksonville, L.A. Ventura, Tucson and Washington D.C. Centex Homes received five awards; a recent merger of Pulte Homes and Centex Homes leaves the combined company with a total of 11 awards nationwide.
Complete List of 2008 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Awards
1. Albuquerque – Pulte
2. Atlanta – John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods
3. Austin – David Weekley Homes
4. Central Valley Fresno – Grainville Homes
5. Charleston SC – Centex
6. Charlotte – John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods
7. Chicago – Cambridge Homes, Lakewood Homes and Pulte Homes
8. Columbus, OH – M/I Homes
9. Dalllas/Fort Worth – Darling Homes
10. Denver Colorado Springs – Shea Homes
11. Fort Myers Naples – Pulte
12. Greensboro NC – Eastwood Homes
13. Greenville SC – Eastwood Homes
14. Houston – Trendmaker Homes
15. Inland Empire CA – Del Webb
16. Jacksonville – Pulte
17. L.A. Ventura CA – Pulte
18. Las Vegas – Centex
19. Minneapolis – Centex
20. Northern New Jersey – Del Webb
21. Orange County CA – Standard Pacific Homes
22. Orlando – David Weekley Homes
23. Palm Beach – Minto Communities
24. Philadelphia – Del Webb
25. Phoenix – Shea Homes
26. Raleigh Durham – Centex
27. San Francisco Bay Area – Del Webb
28. Sacramento – Tim Lewis Communities
29. San Antonio – Medallion Homes
30. San Diego – Shea Homes
31. Tampa – Centex
32. Tucson – Pulte
33. Washington D.C. – Pulte
Resources:
Census.gov – Census.gov – New Residential Construction
Census.gov – Highlights of Annual 2008 Characteristics of New Housing
Builder Online – Top 10 Private Home Builders in 2008
Builder Online – 2008 list of the top 100 Home Builders in the U.S.
Professional Builder – Veridian Homes, 2008 Builder of the Year
J.D. Power and Associates – Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Ratings
Fortune – List of Best Companies to Work in 2008
ENERGY STAR – 2008 ENERGY STAR Award Winners
No doubt about it; the credit crunch caused by a large dose of banker incompetence, has really hurt our industry on all shores.
As the article shows – no credit, (or at least very hard to get credit), lower house prices and the rest has given us all cause for concern, we’ve ridden it out before we’ll need to again.