Share of Homes Built on Slabs Surges

The majority of new single-family homes started in 2023 were built on slab foundations, according to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC). The share of new homes built on slabs has risen steadily from 45.8% in 2000 to 72.4% in 2023. The largest increase occurred from 2022 to 2023, with a jump of 3.9 percentage points, compared to an average increase of 1.93 percentage points over the previous five years.

Conversely, the share of homes with full or partial basements decreased by 3 percentage points from 19.6% in 2022 to 16.6% 2023. Only 9.9% of new single-family homes were built with crawl spaces.

In colder areas where building codes require foundations to be built below the frost line, most homes are constructed with full or partial basements. In the northern divisions, full or partial basement foundations provide additional finished floor areas at a marginal increase of construction cost. The divisions with a majority share of full or partial basements in new homes are West North Central (63.9%), followed by New England (62.1%), Middle Atlantic (48.1%) and East North Central (48%).

In warmer climates where slab foundations are preferred for their cost-effectiveness, new homes with slab foundations are most commonly found in the West South Central (96.9%), Pacific (86.5%), South Atlantic (83.3%) and Mountain (52.9%) divisions.

NAHB Economist Catherine Koh provides more, including interactive graphics, in this Eye on Housing post.