Wood Framing Remained Most Dominant Construction Method in 2021 Despite Lumber Volatility

Despite ongoing supply chain issues and extreme price volatility for lumber products throughout much of the pandemic, wood-framed houses dominated new-home construction projects in 2021. According to NAHB analysis of 2021 Census Bureau data, 92% of all new homes completed in 2021 were wood-framed, 7% were concrete-framed homes, and less than half a percent was steel-framed, Eye on Housing reports.

Nationally, 895,000 wood-framed homes were completed in 2021, an 8% year-over-year increase from 2020, while concrete-framed homes and steel-framed homes both posted yearly declines in 2021.

On a count basis, there were 895,000 wood-framed homes completed in 2021. This was an 8% gain over the 2020 total. As noted above, steel-framed homes are relatively uncommon, with a total of just 3,000 housing completions in 2021, which was 40% less than the 2019 completions sum of 5,000.

Non-wood based framing methods are primarily concentrated in the South due to residential resiliency requirements. In 2021, concrete-framed homes made up 13% of all homes completed in the South. Approximately two-thirds of steel framed homes completed in 2021 were located in the South, with another one-third in the West.

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