The pace of home construction can be complicated. Many factors are in play when it comes to markets across the U.S. being able to add inventory, including rising mortgage rates and a rapid run-up in home values and supply chain challenges.
An analysis by Construction Coverage, a website that provides construction software and insurance review, revealed the U.S. cities that are building the most homes and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area came in No. 5 among the mid-sized Metros.
According to the analysis, Cape Coral-Fort Myers authorized 30.7 new housing units per 1,000 existing homes, putting the market in the Top-10 in the U.S. with a median sale price of $390,185.
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Wilmington, North Carolina came in at No. 1 with 42.5 new housing units per 1,000 existing homes.
The U.S. housing market has been experiencing a major shortage of housing supply, according to the study. The lack of supply has been exacerbated by:
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Significant underinvestment in new housing since the Great Recession: the collapse of the housing market in the mid-2000s and ensuing recession sent authorizations to historic lows.
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The number of new residential units authorized has recovered slowly over the last decade, but as of June 2024, new authorizations declined nearly 25% after peaking in January 2022.
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To make matters worse, the construction industry struggled to keep up during the pandemic: worker shortages and hindered supply chains made it harder and more expensive to obtain building materials.
As a result, more single-family units saw monthslong delays in the time it takes to start and complete construction when compared to years past.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral, Fort Myers among leads in U.S. for building homes
