The 10 cities building (and selling) the most new homes

The 10 cities leading in new-home construction

“Population is the biggest driver for housing,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis at NAHB. It makes sense, then, that Texas — the second-most populous state in the U.S. and the frontrunner in raw population growth from 2020 to 2024 — leads the nation in new-home construction, with four cities in the top 10.

Overall, the U.S. faces a structural housing deficit. Freddie Mac puts the shortage at 3.7 million units, and NAHB estimates that the U.S. needs at least 1.5 million units to bring the housing market back into balance. The organization forecasts this could take until 2030.

So, in the meantime, who’s doing the heaviest lifting to close the gap? These 10 cities lead the nation in new-home construction:

1. Houston, Texas
2. Dallas, Texas
3. Phoenix, Arizona
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. New York, New York
6. Charlotte, North Carolina
7. Orlando, Florida
8. San Antonio, Texas
9. Austin, Texas
10. Tampa, Florida

1. Houston, Texas

As the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas — including the residential construction boom. In the first two months of 2025, Houston saw more than 11,000 new building permits issued. That’s the highest volume in the nation, accounting for more than 6% of the permits issued across all 150 cities we analyzed and nearly 37% of the permits issued across the 10 Texas cities on our list. Houston also had the highest number of new-construction homes sold in this period — 1,314 in just two months, with a noteworthy 15% increase from January (610 new homes sold) to February (704).

That H-Town leads the nation in homebuilding is no coincidence. The city is the only major metro in the U.S. to lack zoning laws, which means it doesn’t directly regulate density or separate communities by use type. The absence of these laws has contributed to Houston’s infamous sprawl, but it’s a boon for developers and homebuilders, who have far fewer restrictions to navigate when constructing new homes.

Many of the regulations that are in place support dense development. One concrete example (pun intended): After 1998 reforms to the city’s development ordinance lowered the minimum lot size for single-family homes from 5,000 to 1,400 square feet, more than 25,000 new homes were developed on these new, smaller lots between 1999 and 2016.

• Number of new building permits issued: 11,047 (No. 1)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 1,314 (No. 1)

2. Dallas, Texas

Texas banks another win with a second major metro leading in homebuilding. Dallas ranks just behind Houston for number of new building permits, with more than 9,800 issued in the first two months of 2025. (Dallas is one of just three cities in the top 10 where building permits issued increased from January to February.) Dallas also ranks fifth for new-construction sales in the same period, with close to 750 new homes sold. However, it has the highest prices for new-construction homes across all the major Texas metros: about $450,000 in February 2025.

Notably, Dallas recently approved a major change to its housing code, aimed at addressing the affordability gap by promoting smaller-scale residential development. The revision will allow up to eight dwelling units to be built using residential codes; previously, any structure with more than two units had to comply with the International Building Code, which is more complex — and therefore more expensive for builders to meet.

• Number of new building permits issued: 9,811 (No. 2)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 741 (No. 5)

3. Phoenix, Arizona

Arizona’s capital city ranks third for new housing construction at the start of 2025. Phoenix boasts the second-highest number of new homes sold, at nearly 1,000 in just the first two months of the year. In the same period, more than 5,300 new building permits were issued, the sixth-highest number among the cities we compared.

Median sale prices for new-construction homes fell slightly from $475,000 to $455,000 between January and February, but prospective buyers looking at the newest homes in the Valley of the Sun should expect higher costs in the coming months. In April 2025, the Phoenix City Council approved a measure that increases the “impact fees” developers must pay to fund additions and improvements to infrastructure in the communities where they’re building. Impact fees in one part of north Phoenix will more than double, to nearly $35,000.

• Number of new building permits issued: 5,348 (No. 6)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 991 (No. 2)

4. Atlanta, Georgia

Residential construction is booming in Atlanta. The city ranks fifth for new building permits in January and February 2025, when nearly 5,900 were issued. The market for new-build homes is even hotter: More than 850 homes were sold in the same period, ranking ATL third in that metric. The number of new-construction sales in Atlanta was identical in January and February; many other cities saw at least a modest change, if not a substantial swing, in new-home sales from month to month.

Atlanta may be a solid option for prospective buyers who are brand-new to homeownership. Among the top 30 cities for new-home construction, Atlanta ranks the best for first-time homebuyers. Alongside “quality of life” factors like access to parks, the city offers some hard-to-pass-up perks for new homebuyers. For example, the Atlanta Housing Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program provides eligible homebuyers up to $20,000 ($25,000 for veterans, educators, and health care and public safety professionals) to put toward a down payment on their first home.

• Number of new building permits issued: 5,893 (No. 5)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 852 (No. 3)

5. New York, New York

Start spreading the news: New York ranks fifth in the nation for new-home construction. (It’s the only city outside the Sun Belt to rank in the top 10.) There were more than 6,300 new building permits issued in New York in January and February 2025 alone. That’s the third-largest number of permits among the cities we analyzed.

New York is among the most expensive places to live in the U.S., and new homes are no exception: The median sale price for new construction was $999,000 in February 2025, a decrease from more than $1.1 million in January. However, efforts are underway to tackle high housing costs and a tight market. In December 2024, the City Council adopted a zoning policy amendment that allows moderate amounts of new housing to be built in each of the city’s neighborhoods. Known as “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” the legislation is expected to enable 82,000 new homes to be created over the next 15 years.

• Number of new building permits issued: 6,307 (No. 3)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 395 (No. 19)

6. Charlotte, North Carolina

With solid numbers for both building permits and new-construction home sales, Charlotte, North Carolina, ranks sixth overall for new-home construction. The Queen City earned this particular crown with more than 4,100 permits issued and over 620 new-build homes sold in the first two months of the year. Strikingly, new-construction sales in Charlotte increased by nearly 12% from January to February. That sets the city apart from some other top-ranked Southeastern cities, like Orlando (where new-home sales fell) and Atlanta (where they stayed approximately the same).

During the first two months of early 2025, the median price for a new-construction home fell by roughly $11,000, a decrease of about 2.8%. As of February 2025, the Charlotte metro area has a 2.4-month supply of housing inventory, an increase of 33% from the previous year, according to the Charlotte-based Canopy Realtor Association.

• Number of new building permits issued: 4,131 (No. 7)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 622 (No. 6)

7. Orlando, Florida

A high volume of new building permits earned Orlando a spot in the top 10 cities for new-home construction. Nearly 6,000 new residential building permits were issued in the city in just two months — that’s the fourth-highest number among all the cities we compared. The number of new-construction home sales, however, is relatively low: Just over 350 new homes were sold in Orlando in the first two months of 2025, ranking the city 21st in that metric.

Median prices of new-build homes in Orlando fell by 2% between January and February. But the median price for all homes on the market (both new and existing) increased by 4% from January to April 2025, and overall home sales in Orlando increased by 62% in the same period. In a recent report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, President Lawrence Bellido said that April’s housing data — namely, the increases in both inventory and sales — forecasts a “promising summer” for people looking to move in Orlando.

• Number of new building permits issued: 5,936 (No. 4)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 352 (No. 21)

8. San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio lags slightly behind the other top-ranked cities for new building permits, issuing just over 2,000 permits in January and February 2025. That’s the fewest permits issued of all cities in the top 10 for that time period. The new-build housing market, though, is plenty hot: San Antonio ranks fourth in the nation for the new-construction sales, with nearly 750 new homes sold in the first two months of the year.

With recent median prices at about $270,000, San Antonio offers new homes at a substantially lower cost than the other top-ranked Texas cities. Homebuyers who take advantage of the Alamo City’s relative affordability may want to consider putting that extra cash toward solar energy for their new home. San Antonio boasts some of the most affordable solar energy in the U.S., and a 2022 report by the research and policy organization Environment America Research & Policy Center ranked San Antonio the best city in Texas and fifth best in the nation for total solar power production.

• Number of new building permits issued: 2,013 (No. 25)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 748 (No. 4)

9. Austin, Texas

Texas completes its impressive showing in the top 10 with Austin, ranking ninth overall. The capital ranks eighth in new-construction home sales and ninth in new building permits, with more than 500 new homes sold and almost 3,900 permits issued in January and February. The spate of new homes may be helping stabilize prices in the rental market, too: From 2023 to 2024, Austin saw median rent fall by 3.5 percent. (It’s one of just two cities out of the 70 most populous in the U.S. where rents decreased over that year.)

Artificial intelligence will soon help the city of Austin process this large volume of residential building permits in a timely manner. After a 2022 audit found that it took an average of 345 days — more than 11 months — to review a building application, the city began a pilot program using AI to review building plans and flag them for inconsistencies between construction applications and Austin’s building rules. (Austin was among the first U.S. cities to adopt this type of technology, but other cities are quickly following suit; the city and county of Los Angeles launched a similar program in late April as part of efforts to rebuild after fires in January 2025.)

• Number of new building permits issued: 3,889 (No. 9)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 520 (No. 8)

10. Tampa, Florida

Rounding out our top 10 cities for new-home construction is Tampa. Just under 450 new-construction homes were sold in the Tampa metro area in the first two months of 2025. Nearly 4,000 new building permits were granted in the same short period, ranking Tampa eighth in the nation for that metric.

With median sale prices close to $420,000, new homes in Florida aren’t the cheapest, but they aren’t the most expensive, either — even as Florida has the sixth-highest cost of living in the country. Home prices for new construction in Tampa fell slightly between January and February of this year, and some experts predict the market will continue to cool. In a March 2025 report, the data analytics firm Cotality identified Tampa as one of the top markets to watch for price declines.

• Number of new building permits issued: 3,945 (No. 8)
• Number of new-construction homes sold: 449 (No. 15)

Which cities are falling behind in new-home construction?

As new-home construction booms in some cities, it’s busting — or, at least, slowing to a trickle — in others. Among 150 of the largest American metros, the following places rank lowest for new-housing construction:

1. Springfield, Massachusetts
2. Rockford, Illinois
3. Buffalo, New York
4. New Haven, Connecticut
5. Flint, Michigan
6. San Luis Obispo, California
7. Vallejo, California
8. Roanoke, Virginia
9. Kingsport, Tennessee
10. Davenport, Iowa

In these cities, just a handful of new-construction homes were sold in the first two months of 2025, and the building permits issued in January and February 2025 number in the dozens, not the thousands. (Compare last-ranked Springfield, Massachusetts, where just 31 permits were issued and six new homes sold, with Houston, Texas, where more than 11,000 permits were issued and over 1,300 new homes were sold in the same span.)

The maxim that population drives new-home construction appears to prove true here, too: The latest census data shows that these cities had some of the smallest population growth in the nation from 2023 to 2024. San Luis Obispo, California (where the “homeownership premium” is among the highest in the country, at nearly 112%), saw 1.3% population growth, and the population grew just 0.1% in Vallejo, California; Buffalo, New York; and Flint, Michigan.

Population isn’t the only piece of the puzzle, however. Hunt of MarketNsight cited lengthy or delayed permitting processes, restrictive zoning laws and even challenging topography as other factors that can influence how quickly new housing is able to be built in a given place, regardless of demand. In places where there are fewer of these “constraints on supply,” he explained, builders can build the volume of housing they need to achieve economies of scale.

How much new housing is being built in America's biggest cities?

In the first two months of 2025, over 24,000 new-construction homes were sold in 150 of the largest cities in the U.S. Over the same period, more than seven times as many new residential building permits were issued in these cities — a staggering total of nearly 174,000.

How is your city contributing to the growth of new-home construction? Check out the full data in the table below.

Tips for buying a new-construction home

Curious about buying a new-build house, but feeling unsure of the ins and outs of the process? We spoke with Scott Norman, CEO of the Texas Association of Builders, for expert advice on how to buy a new-construction home.

• Research the building company. “Generally, when buying a home or any real estate, do your research — it’s not a decision to be made lightly,” Norman said. To get started, find reputable homebuilders in your area and dig deeper into a handful of options by reading customer ratings and reviews.
• Get examples of builders’ work. Especially if you’re interested in buying a custom home, it’s important to inspect a builder’s finished product up close. “A builder should be more than willing to go show you other examples of their work,” Norman said. If the builder is hesitant or cagey about showing off its past projects, that should raise a red flag, he added.
• Study the details of the builder’s warranty. Make sure you understand not just the policy details of the homebuilders warranty, but also how the builder handles warranty claims when problems arise, Norman said. “The larger the company, it may be a more formalized process. Volume builders have whole divisions that just handle warranty claims,” he explained, while smaller builders may have just one designated claims manager who takes a more intimate, individualized approach.
• Ask about incentives. Many homebuyers, especially larger-production builders, are currently offering incentives to entice homebuyers despite the currently high interest rates, Norman explained. A lot of builders will be advertising these offers aggressively, but make sure to ask about all the available options. Builders may offer interest rate buydowns, down payment assistance or other perks in an effort to sweeten the deal.
• Consider a separate home warranty. “A home is one of the last things in our life that is built outside, in the elements, by hundreds of people on a job site,” said Norman. The complex nature of homebuilding means that, sometimes, things turn out imperfectly. That’s where a home warranty for new construction can come in. For a deeper exploration of what to look for — as well as what to look out for — when it comes to purchasing a warranty for your new home, check out our home warranty buyers guide.

Methodology

The ConsumerAffairs Research Team analyzed data on new building permits and new-construction home sales from January and February 2025 across 150 of the largest U.S. cities. Each city was scored on two equally weighted metrics: new building permits and new-home sales (each worth 50 points). The top-performing city in each category received the maximum score, with all other cities earning relative scores. These category scores were then combined to calculate an overall score out of 100 points.

Building permit data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, and new-construction home sales data was sourced from Zillow.

We also collected supplemental data from Zillow on the median sales price of new-construction homes in each city for the same time period. While this price data is included in the story for additional context, it was not factored into the scoring.

Reference policy

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Questions?

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact rsowell@consumeraffairs.com.