Birmingham Is Investing The Most In Single-Family Homes: Report

BIRMINGHAM, AL — With many Americans moving out of densely populated cities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Birmingham metro area leads the way among larger cities for purchases of single-family homes.

A recent study by Porch looked at the cities investing the most in new, single-family homes in the United States and while the share of single-family home constructions has been declining in favor of multi-unit properties for decades in many cities across the country, some cities — like Birmingham — have prioritized investment into single-family homes more than others.

The analysis found that in the Birmingham metropolitan area, 95.7 percent of new housing units were single-family in 2019, far above the national average of 62.2 percent.

Here is a summary of the data for the Birmingham-Hoover metro area:

• Share of new housing units that are single-family homes (2019): 95.7 percent
• Share of existing housing units that are single-family homes: 71.6 percent
• Total new single-family homes (2019): 3,063
• Total new housing units (2019): 3,202

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 71.5 percent of new housing units in 1990 were single-family homes. By 2019, however, only 62.2 percent of new housing units nationwide were single-family homes. Notably, the overall number of new housing units authorized dropped precipitously in 2008 during the Great Recession, and has still not recovered to pre-recession level.