Supply-Chain Roadblocks Led to Longer Build Times in 2022

The Census Bureau’s 2022 Survey of Construction (SOC) revealed that the average completion time of a single-family house in 2022 was 9.6 months, roughly one month and a half longer than the average completion time in 2021. Construction delays in 2022 were largely due to supply-side challenges and skilled-labor shortages that persisted throughout the year, the National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing reports.

Among all single-family completions in 2022, houses built for sale took 8.9 months from obtaining building permits to completion, the shortest amount of time reported. Custom builds, or houses built by owners, required the longest time to complete at an average 13.4 months.

The average time from authorization to completion also varies across divisions. The division with the longest duration was New England (12.6 months), followed by the Middle Atlantic (11.8 months), the Pacific (10.8 months), the East South Central (10.1 months) and East North Central (9.7 months) in 2022. These five divisions had average time from permit to completion exceeding the nation’s average (9.6 months). The shortest period, 8.6 months, is registered in the South Atlantic division. The average waiting period from permit to construction start varies from the shortest time of 24 days in the East North Central to the longest one of 47 days in South Atlantic.

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