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Characteristics of New Housing



Characteristics of New Housing for 2008 were released on June 1, 2009.


All data for 2008 on the square feet of one-family houses and units in multifamily buildings and the price per square foot of one-family houses have been revised to include additional data that had been excluded from the original estimates.

  • Highlights of Annual 2008 Characteristics of New Housing



Selected characteristics of new housing data are available on a quarterly basis from the bullet labeled 'Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design (US and Regions)' on our New Residential Construction web page. Ten quarterly tables show single-family and multi-family units started and completed for the United States and four Census regions by purpose of construction and design type. They also show the median and average square feet.

The printed publication 'Characteristics of New Housing', series C25 Annual, has been discontinued.

Statistics previously available in this publication will now be available on-line as PDF or Excel files.

The letters PDF or symbol PDF indicate a document is in the Portable Document Format (PDF). To view file you will need the Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Reader which is available for free from the Adobe web site.



HISTORY TABLES (below are in PDF)    

Entire set of the 200+ Tables (listed below) in PDF Format or select from below to see individual tables.

To view the tables in Excel format, click here.


Characteristics of New One-Family Houses Completed:

Tables with data on exterior wall materials of New One-Family Houses Completed were updated with the release of the 2008 data. The new tables include fiber cement as a separate category beginning with data for 2002 and no longer show aluminum siding as a separate category. Data on secondary wall material by aluminum primary wall material are available for 1999 through 2007.

Ranges for data on the square feet of floor area for New One-Family Houses Completed were updated with the release of the 2008 data. The tables show data with the new ranges back to 2002. Data for the previous ranges for 1973 through 2007 are also available.

     Presence of Central Air-Conditioning  
     Number of Bathrooms  
     Number of Bedrooms  
     Number of Bathrooms by Number of Bedrooms  
     Type of Construction Method  
     Principal Type of Exterior Wall Material  
     Secondary Type of Exterior Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Brick Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Wood Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Stucco Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Vinyl Siding Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Fiber Cement Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by 'Other' Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Aluminum Primary Wall Material  
     Type of Financing  
     Number of Fireplaces  
     Type of Foundation  
     Type of Heating Fuel  
     Heating Fuel by Type of Heating System  
     Type of Heating System  
     Median and Average Square Feet by Location  
     Median and Average Square Feet by Type of Financing  
     Presence of Outdoor Features  
     Type of Parking Facility  
     Square Feet of Floor Area  
     Number of Stories  


Characteristics of Units in New Multi-Family Buildings Completed:

Ranges for data on square feet per unit for New Multi-Family Buildings Completed were updated with the release of the 2008 data. The tables show data with the new ranges back to 2002. Data for the previous ranges through 2007 are also available.

     Number of Floors  
     Units per Building  
     Presence of Air Conditioning  
     Type of Heating Fuel  
     Presence of Heat Pump  
     Number of Bathrooms  
     Number of Bedrooms  
     Median and Average Square Feet by Location   
     Square Feet per Unit  
     Design Type  
     Number of Fireplaces  


Characteristics of New Multi-Family Buildings Completed:

     Number of Floors  
     Units per Building  
     Presence of Air Conditioning  
     Type of Heating Fuel  
     Presence of Heat Pump  
     Presence of Fireplace  
     Construction Method  


Characteristics of New One-Family Houses Sold:

Tables with data on exterior wall materials of New One-Family Houses Sold were updated with the release of the 2008 data. The new tables include fiber cement as a separate category beginning with data for 2002 and no longer show aluminum siding as a separate category. Data on secondary wall material by aluminum primary wall material are available for 1999 through 2007.

Ranges for data on the square feet of floor area for New One-Family Houses Sold were updated with the release of the 2008 data. The tables show data with the new ranges back to 1999. Data for the previous ranges for 1999 through 2007 are also available.

Data collection for closing costs of New One-Family Houses Sold has been discontinued. Previously published tables are available.

Sales price and price per square foot ranges for New One-Family Houses Sold were updated with the release of the 2005 data. The tables show data with the current ranges back to 2002. Data for the previous ranges for 1994 through 2004 are also available.

     Presence of Central-Air Conditioning   
     Number of Bathrooms   
     Number of Bedrooms   
     Number of Bathrooms by Number of Bedrooms  
     Closing Costs Included   
     Principal Type of Exterior Wall Material   
     Secondary Type of Exterior Wall Material   
     Secondary Wall Material by Brick Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Wood Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Stucco Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Vinyl Siding Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Fiber Cement Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by 'Other' Primary Wall Material  
     Secondary Wall Material by Aluminum Primary Wall Material  
     Type of Financing   
     Type of Foundation   
     Type of Heating Fuel   
     Heating Fuel by Type of Heating System  
     Type of Heating System   
     Lot Size Range   
     Median and Average Lot Size(non-condo units only)   
     Design Type   
     Type of Parking Facility   
      Price per Square Foot   
      Median and Average Price per Square Foot   
      Median and Average Sales Price   
      Sales Price Range   
      Square Feet of Floor Area  
      Median and Average Square Feet   
     Number of Stories   


Characteristics of Contractor-Built Houses Started:

Price per square foot ranges for Contractor-Built Houses Started were updated with the release of the 2005 data. The tables show data with the current ranges back to 2002. Data for the previous ranges for 1994 through 2004 are also available.

      Contract Price  
      Median and Average Contract Price   
      Contract Price per Square Foot  
      Median and Average Contract Price per Square Foot   


HISTORIC ON-LINE PUBLICATIONS (PDF)

Historic Annual C25, "Characteristics of New Housing" Publications: (Years in parenthesis indicate the years published in that report that can be considered the most current information at this time.)
  • 1999    (1995-1998)
  • 1998    (1994-1998)
  • 1997    (1993-1997)
  • 1996    (1992-1996)
  • 1995    (1991-1995)
  • 1990    (1986-1990)
  • 1985    (1981-1985)
  • 1980    (1978-1980)
  • 1977    (1973-1977)
  • 1975    (1971-1972)


Picture of Energy Star logo The ENERGY STAR program, managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), promotes energy-efficient products and homes that preserve natural resources and lessen greenhouse gas emissions, as well as reduce consumers' energy bills. The ENERGY STAR mark on a new home signifies that it uses significantly less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating than a standard home built to code. ENERGY STAR's Web site features a market index for each state and the District of Colombia that estimates ENERGY STAR's market penetration in the new homes sector. Each index utilizes housing permit data reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Picture of red telephone For questions, visit our Question and Answer Center at ask.census.gov or contact the Residential Construction Branch at (301)763-5160.


Last revised:August 18, 2009


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