Porches continue to rank as the most common outdoor feature on new homes, according to NAHB tabulation of the latest data from the Survey of Construction (SOC, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from HUD). Of the roughly 950,000 single-family homes started in 2023, the SOC data show that 67.7% were built with porches. This is four full percentage points higher than the 63.7% reported for patios, and marks the first time the share of new homes with porches has surpassed two-thirds since the re-design of the SOC in 2005.
Traditionally, porches on new homes have been most common in the four states that make up the East South Central Census division. That was true again in 2023, although by the narrowest of margins. While 81% of new homes in the East South Central had porches in 2023, that was only a single percentage point higher than the 80% recorded in the Pacific Division. The share was also over 70% in four other divisions: the Mountain (77%), South Atlantic (74%), East North Central (73%) and New England (72%). Once again, the division with the smallest share of poches on new homes was the West South Central (42%). After some significant changes between 2021 and 2022, the 2023 divisional percentages were not drastically different from the ones reported for 2022 in last year’s post.
Detail about the characteristics of porches on new homes is available from the Builder Practices Survey (BPS), conducted annually by Home Innovation Research Labs. Among other things, the 2024 BPS report (based on homes built in 2023) shows that porches continue to be most common on the front of new single-family homes, rather than on the side or rear. When on the front, porches average approximately 100 square feet of floor area, compared to 140 square feet for a side or rear porch, and 200 square feet for a screened-in porch.
On a square foot basis, builders continue to use concrete more than any other material in new-home porches—except in New England, where composite (a blend of usually recycled wood fibers and plastic) is most common, and treated wood, PVC or other plastics, cedar, and natural stone are each used more than concrete.
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