North Dakota housing units authorized for construction in 2009 totaled 3,195, an increase of 12.8 percent from 2008. Only one other state, Alaska, reported an increase. Nationally, the number of units authorized decreased by 35.6 percent in 2009.

This month’s “Economic Brief,” a monthly publication from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, focuses on the number and value of new housing units authorized for construction by building permits in North Dakota. The data were released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Residential Construction Branch.

“The housing market reflects the contrasting economies between North Dakota and the nation,” says Richard Rathge, State Data Center director. “We have largely avoided the housing bust and recession that the nation continues to experience.”

From 2000 to 2004, housing units authorized for construction in North Dakota grew an average of 17.5 percent per year. From 2004 to 2005, there was little change. Beginning in 2006, the housing market began to slow down with successive declines in authorized homes (approximately 11 percent per year through 2008).

The increase in newly authorized housing units in North Dakota from 2008 to 2009 was the result of 546 more units in multiple-unit structures. Single-family homes in North Dakota authorized for construction decreased by 184 units in 2009.

The total value associated with newly authorized housing units in North Dakota grew rapidly during the first part of the decade, peaked in 2006 at $462.3 million, and has steadily decreased to $352.5 million in 2009.

In 2009, single-family homes comprised approximately half of new authorized housing in North Dakota (53.3 percent, which is down from 66.6 percent in 2008) and averaged $171,063 in value. Nationally, values averaged $186,689 in 2009.

Approximately one-third of all new housing units authorized for construction in the U.S. in 2008 were recorded in Texas, Florida, California and North Carolina (32.3 percent).

NDSU Agricultural Communication