During the third quarter of 2025, townhouse construction increased its proportion of the single-family construction market.
According to NAHB’s analysis of the most recent Census data on Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were 46,000 single-family attached starts in the third quarter of 2025.
Over the last four quarters, townhouse construction starts reached 179,000 dwellings, a 1% increase over the previous four quarters (177,000).
Townhouses accounted for over 20% of single-family dwelling starts in the third quarter of the year.
Using a one-year moving average, new townhouses accounted for 18.7% of all single-family starts in the third quarter.
With advances over the past year, the four-quarter moving average market share is the greatest on record, dating back to 1985.
Prior to the present cycle, the peak market share for townhouse development over the last two decades was in the first quarter of 2008, when the proportion hit 14.6% on a one-year moving average basis.
This high point was reached following a somewhat constant growth in the share beginning in the early 1990s.
The long-term prospects for townhouse building are promising, given the growing number of purchasers seeking medium-density residential districts, such as urban villages with walkable surroundings and other amenities.
It is possible to build wherever it is zoned.
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