Building townhomes has become a solution for builders to speed up the pace of construction while balancing rising land, material, and labor costs, delivering a more affordable product for first-time buyers especially.
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), townhouse construction is up, and is estimated to continue growing in the near-term. Townhome construction starts hit 123,000 annually in the third quarter of 2018, growing 24 percent from the prior four quarters. These structures currently account for 1.8 percent of all single-family housing starts, the highest share since the Great Recession, The Washington Post reports.
The NAHB says that townhouse construction is likely to expand more because they appeal to first-time buyers and because the demand for walkable neighborhoods is growing. In addition, townhouses require less land than single-family houses. Newly built townhouses, unlike those from earlier decades, typically have an open floor plan on the main level and a master suite with a private full bathroom. High-end townhouses sometimes have roof decks and elevators.