Despite unprecedented labor and construction materials shortages, business is booming for home builders across the country.
Over the past 2 years, residential construction permits increased 36% nationally and the average value of a newly constructed single-family home increased by 7%, according to an analysis of permitting data from 368 municipalities by Omnis Panels, a Chicago-area maker of rainscreen panels.
Single-family homes saw the greatest increase in permits, at 30%. For large buildings containing five or more units, the increase was 21%. Many cities, especially several in Florida, saw much larger increases. Here are the metropolitan areas with percentage changes over 60% in single-family permits between June 2020 and June 2021:
| City | June 2020 Permits | June 2021 Permits | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocala, Florida | 1,628 | 2,917 | 79% |
| Cape Coral-Ft. Myers,Florida | 2,913 | 5,150 | 77% |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas | 1,426 | 2,462 | 73% |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, California | 3,000 | 4,978 | 66% |
| Columbia, South Carolina | 1,937 | 3,198 | 65% |
| Naples-Marco Island, Florida | 1,343 | 2,211 | 65% |
| Greenville-Anderson, South Carolina | 2,887 | 4,734 | 64% |
| Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | 3,137 | 5,120 | 63% |
| North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida | 3,879 | 6,303 | 62% |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida | 2,940 | 4,738 | 61% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas | 4,693 | 7,558 | 61% |
| Columbus, Ohio | 2,182 | 3,512 | 61% |
SOURCE: Omnis Panels analysis of U.S. cities that issued more than 1,000 permits.
The country’s biggest home building companies reaped many benefits from this boom, according to Builder magazine. The top 200 residential builders in the U.S. accounted for 441,420 new homes in 2020, a 17% increase compared with 2019. They also saw $165 billion in associated revenue, a 15% rise over 2019.
Here are the 10 top in the residential construction sector, as ranked by Builder magazine.
1. D.R. Horton
2020 revenue: $21.6 billion
2020 closings: 71,292
2. Lennar Corp.
2020 revenue: $20.8 billion
2020 closings: 53,376
Company fact: Lennar started as a one-man operation in 1954 and grew to one of the largest residential construction companies.
3. PulteGroup
2020 revenue: $9.9 billion
2020 closings: 24,624
4. NVR
2020 revenue: $7.3 billion
2020 closings: 19,766
5. Taylor Morrison
2020 revenue: $6.1 billion
2020 closings: 12,524
6. Meritage Homes Corp.
2020 revenue: $4.4 billion
2020 closings: 11,834
7. KB Home
2020 revenue: $4.2 billion
2020 closings: 10,672
Company fact: Meritage was the first national top 10 homebuilder to have every home it built be Energy Star certified.
8. Clayton Properties Group
2020 revenue: $3 billion
2020 closings: 9,475
9. Century Communities
2020 revenue: $3 billion
2020 closings: 9,453
10. LGI Homes
2020 revenue: $2.4 billion
2020 closings: 9,339
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