Robert Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy at the National Association of Home Builders, is on a mission to help the industry provide more affordable housing long term.
Here, in this short video, Dietz gives his insights on the various elements affecting the ability of builders and developers to not only deliver more attainable product, but how they can also sustain a healthy business model.
One of the trends that Dietz highlights is the increase in townhome construction, which he states is growing eight times faster than the overall market.
“The upward trend will follow increasing demand from Millennials to enter into homeownership,” says Mark Boud, chief economist at Metrostudy, supporting Dietz’s statements. “Townhomes offer a solution to high single family detached price points. Towns also accommodate smaller households who are trending toward fewer children and a desire to remain near jobs.”
Metrostudy data shows that townhome starts are outpacing every other type of detached product, increasing from 38,624 or 15% of starts in 2014 to 59,540 or 18% of starts in 2018. The growth in those five years has been very consistently increasing by close to 6,000 per year according to Metrostudy’s numbers.
Dietz points out that there could be a strong opportunity for these numbers to grow, because townhomes represent a strong collaboration between consumer needs, city demands and developer opportunities.
