There were 36,000 custom home building starts in the first quarter of 2026, up 3% from the first quarter of 2025, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of Census data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey.
While overall single-family construction was down 5% in the first four months of 2026, custom home building has been a bright spot, according to the report. “The custom building market is less sensitive to the interest rate cycle than other forms of home building but is more sensitive to changes in household wealth and stock prices,” it said. “With spec home building down and the stock market up, custom building has expanded its market share.”
Based on a one-year moving average, custom home building currently holds 20.0% of total single-family starts, down from prior cycle peaks of 31.5% in 2009 and 21% at the beginning of 2023.
Read the full report here.
