In 2021, 74 thousand new homes to be built were licensed. That’s 10 percent more than in 2020 and the highest number in more than a decade. The total construction cost of these licensed homes was nearly 15 percent higher than a year earlier. One-third of licensed new homes are rental homes, two-thirds are owner-occupied homes. South Holland saw the most new housing permits. This reports CBS based on new construction figures.
The low point in the number of licensed new homes was reached in 2013, when permits were issued for only 27 thousand homes. After that, the number of permits increased. In the period 2017-2021, this number averaged around 68 thousand. That was still less than in the period before the 2008/2009 credit crisis. Between 2000 and 2008, permits were still granted for an average of 80 thousand new homes to be built each year.The number of new homes licensed is an indicator of the number of homes to be built in the near future. The average lead time from permit issuance is about two years. Permits for housing transformations (converting non-residential properties, such as offices, into homes) are not included in the figures on licensed new construction. Earlier, CBS reported that nearly 69 thousand new homes were added to the stock by 2021.
