According to the most recent NAHB Cost of Construction Survey, construction expenditures make up 64.4% of the typical home price.
In 2022, the share dropped 3.6 points to 60.8%. The current finding is a record high for building costs since the series’ start in 1998, and it is the seventh time construction costs have accounted for more than 60% of total sales price.
The finished lot was the second highest cost at 13.7% of the sales price, a decrease of more than four percentage points from 17.8% in 2022.
The finished lot proportion of the overall sales price has declined steadily in the last three surveys, hitting a series low in 2024.
The average builder profit margin in 2024 was 11.0%, up slightly from 10.1% in 2022.
Overhead and general expenses increased to 5.7% in 2024, up from 5.1% in 2022.
The remainder of the average home sale price was made up of sales commission (2.8%), finance charges (1.5%), and marketing expenditures (0.8%).
Marketing expenditures remained largely stable, while sales commission and finance costs fell compared to 2022 breakdowns.
Construction expenditures were divided into eight primary stages of construction.
Interior finishing accounted for the greatest portion of construction expenditures, at 24.1%, followed by major system rough-ins (19.2%), frame (16.6%), external finishes (13.4%), foundations (10.5%), site work (7.6%), final stages (6.5%), and other costs (2.1%).
Explore the interactive dashboard below to see the expenses and percentages of building costs for the eight stages and 36 components.
Table 1 displays the same results as the dashboard above in a table style.
Please go here to view the full report (which includes historical findings dating back to 1998).
[Read more about this topic on Eyeonhousing.org]