2013 Characteristics of New Housing

Using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, this report provides annual statistics on the characteristics of new privately owned residential structures in the four U.S. regions. The report includes characteristics such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the type of exterior wall material, the buyer’s source of financing and the structure’s square footage.

This year’s release includes an interactive graphic with a pictorial representation of the single-family characteristics.

Construction: square foot cost estimate to build your particular project

Is there a book or other resource which gives construction costs per square foot for different types of building projects?

"An accurate estimate of the costs to build your particular project depends upon the location, project scope, specific components used and current market conditions and is available on RSMeansOnline.com. But cost estimates are available for certain building types here.

Housing Stock: Year Built

Despite the flurry of construction during the housing bubble, the percentage of the nation's 132 million housing units that were built between 2000 and 2010 is only slightly greater than the percentage built during the 1980s and 1990s, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Take a look at the distribution of the nation's housing units by the decade they were built...

2000s: 14.8%
1990s: 13.9%
1980s: 14.0%
1970s: 16.0%
1960s: 11.1%
1950s: 10.9%
Earlier: 19.2%

per American Consumers Newsletter

NAICS sector 23: Construction

2007 Economic Census release of the Subjects and Summary Series reports.

New Census Bureau Economic Series Releases

2007 Economic Census: Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Industry Series

2007 Economic Census: Construction Industry Series

2007 Business Expenses for Wholesale and Retail Trades

Green Building Impact Report 2008

Source: GreenerBuildings.com

This Green Building Impact Report is the first-ever integrated assessment of the land, water, energy, material and indoor environmental impacts of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED for New Construction (LEED NC), Core & Shell (LEED CS) and Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) standards.

Construction

Census has monthly construction stats, but what if your folks are looking for forecasts?

That was the question posed to my Business Librarians listserv, and here is the collective wisdom:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs003.htm
http://www.huduser.org/publications/econdev/mkt_analysis.html
http://www.hoovers.com/residential-real-estate-construction/--ID__19--/free-ind-fr-profile-basic.xhtml
http://www.nahb.org/showpage_details.aspx?showPageID=311§ionID=1163
http://www.agc.org/cs/industry_topics/construction_economics
http://www.abc.org/Newsroom2/Construction_Executive/Cover_Story.aspx

Articles from general business journals may also be helpful.

Buildings Energy Databook

The 2006 Buildings Energy Databook is available here. The site has the most up-to-date buildings energy information and is updated regularly. Data can be viewed online and complete electronic editions are also available.

The databook was developed for use within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It contains current buildings-related data and has served as a valuable resource in providing consistent, citable data in a single document.

The Databook includes statistics on residential and commercial building energy consumption. Data tables contain statistics related to construction, building technologies, energy consumption, and building characteristics.