Garages in New Homes: 2015 Data

A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2015 included two-car garages, according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau Survey of Construction data.

For new single-family completions in 2015, 61 percent of homes offered a two-car garage. Another 24 percent of homes possessed a garage large enough to hold three or more cars. Just 6 percent of newly built homes had a one-car garage, and only 1 percent possessed a carport. Another 9 percent of new homes had no garage or carport.

Over the last two decades, there has been a shift in parking options. As home size has grown, the share of homes with a three or more car garage has grown as well. In 1992, 11 percent of homes had a garage for three or more cars. That share rose to a peak of 20 percent in 2005, before falling to 16 percent in 2010.

In contrast, the market share of homes with no garage or carport has been on the decline. In 1992, 15 percent of new single-family homes had no parking facility. That share fell to 8 percent in 2005, before rising slightly to 13 percent in 2010.

(updated) By structure type, half of one-car garage homes in 2015 were townhouses. Just 10 percent of two-car garage options were townhouses. And almost 23 percent of the no parking options were associated with townhouse construction.

There are also clear regional differences for parking options in new homes. In the Northeast, no garage or carport is available in 18 percent of homes, the highest such share. In the West, that is true in only 3 percent of homes, the lowest Census region. The Midwest had the highest share of three or more car garages, at 42 percent of new homes. The Northeast had the lowest market share of three-plus car garages, with just 12 percent homes completed. The Northeast in contrast leads the share in one-car garages, with 16 percent of completed single-family homes.

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This article is a post on NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog.