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Single-family home construction declined across all geographic regions in the first quarter of 2026 while multifamily construction grew in most areas, according to the NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), as economic uncertainty, high material costs and elevated interest rates all continue to impact the homebuilding market.
“Higher material and financing costs are acting as major headwinds to single-family production,” says NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. “And while builders continue to offer price cuts and incentives, ongoing affordability challenges are keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines. Meanwhile, multifamily markets have remained broadly resilient, but the same pressures weighing on the single-family sector could soon affect the multifamily market as well.”
Permits for single-family homes have slowed growth nationwide in Q1 2026, with the most significant declines occurring in large metro core counties, or areas with the highest population densities.
The first quarter HBGI shows the following market shares in single-family home building:
- 14.7% in large metro core counties
- 24.3% in large metro suburban counties
- 9.3% in large metro outlying counties
- 29.4% in small metro core counties
- 10.8% in small metro outlying areas
- 7.0% in micro counties
- 4.5% in non-metro/micro counties
Multifamily construction grew across all markets in the first quarter of 2026, except for outlying counties in large metros and micro counties. These two geographies appear to be normalizing after growing consistently throughout 2025.
The first quarter HBGI shows the following market shares in multifamily home building:
- 36.5% in large metro core counties
- 26.9% in large metro suburban counties
- 3.1% in large metro outlying counties
- 23.8% in small metro core counties
- 5.1% in small metro outlying areas
- 3.4% in micro counties
- 1.2% in non-metro/micro counties
