Single-family building declined additional within the fourth quarter in all however sparsely populated micro counties, in line with the NAHB Dwelling Constructing Geography Index (HBGI). In the meantime, multifamily building confirmed development in all markets for the primary time in over two years because it continued to strengthen given the affordability challenges going through for-sale building. The HBGI tracks single-family and multifamily permits throughout seven inhabitants density delineated geographies in the US.
Single-Household
Among the many HBGI markets, development within the fourth quarter of 2025 was solely registered in micro counties, which elevated 1.6% year-over-year on a four-quarter shifting common foundation (4QMA). This was the seventh consecutive quarter the place micro counties confirmed development. All different markets reported declines, with the most important occurring in massive metro core counties, posting a decline of 12.8%. All markets confirmed development one 12 months in the past which shortly dissipated as 2025 introduced a bunch of challenges for builders, starting from the continued affordability disaster to financial uncertainty.
When it comes to market share, single-family building’s largest geography remained small metro core county areas, representing 29.4%.. The smallest single-family building market remained non metro/micro county areas, with a 4.5% market share. The most important decline in market share over 2025 was in massive metro core counties, falling one share level to fifteen.1%. The most important acquire over the 12 months was in small metro outlying counties because the market share rose from 10.0% to 10.5%.
Multifamily
Matching single-family, the most important features for multifamily building occurred in micro counties, rising 14.0% (4QMA) within the fourth quarter. This was adopted by small metro outlying counties which grew 11.6%. The bottom development was in massive metro outlying counties at 1.9%. This quarter marks the primary time that every one markets confirmed development because the first quarter of 2023.
When it comes to market share, massive metro core counties held the most important at 35.1%. The market share for big metro core counties rose considerably over the course of 2025, because it was 33.3% within the first quarter. The world that misplaced essentially the most market share over the 12 months was massive metro outlying counties, falling from 4.7% to three.7% within the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter of 2025 HBGI knowledge together with an interactive HBGI map will be discovered at https://nahb.org/hbgi.
