What does a new home cost to build in the US and Colorado in 2026, and where does the money go?
research/house-market
What does a new home cost to build in the US and Colorado in 2026, and where does the money go? Sourced market report: median new US home $393,700 (Aug 2026, −5.8% y/y) while input costs rose 10.3%; NAHB's breakdown puts construction at 64.4% of price and foundations, framing and exterior at 26%, so a 20% cheaper structure moves the price 5.2%; manufactured homes cost ~52% of site-built per sq ft; Denver fees and plan-review delay are ~12% of a modelled $462k (lot excluded) home against 3.5% nationally.
What it found
A sourced, dated market report. The median new US home sold for $393,700 in August 2026 (−5.8% y/y) while inputs to residential construction rose 10.3%, mortgage rates reached 7.4% and builder sentiment hit its lowest since 2012. On NAHB’s 2024 breakdown, construction is 64.4% of price and foundations, framing and exterior 26%, so a 20% cheaper structural system moves the price only 5.2%; HUD-code manufactured homes cost about 52% of site-built per sq ft by building the whole house in a factory. In Denver, itemised fees and a 209-day plan review are about 12% of a modelled $462,000 home before land, against 3.5% nationally. Technique cost studies are old and often industry-funded; several figures are search excerpts, marked in the data.
A figure from its own output
Paper, code and results
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Produced with AI assistance (Claude). Results are from the code in this repository and are simulated or stylised unless the abstract says otherwise; nothing here implies affiliation with or endorsement by any lab, researcher or company cited. MIT licensed.