NAHB: Patios Continue to Serve as Substitute for Decks on New Homes

Data from the Survey of Construction suggest that when more new homes have patios, fewer have decks.

1 MIN READ

Adobe Stock

The share of new homes with decks continues to hover near historic lows while the share of homes with patios continue to climb, according to data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC). The share of homes with decks was 17.6% in 2023. The share has remained below 18% since 2021 after never dipping below 22% from 2005 to 2018. At the same time, the share of new homes with patios has climbed to a record high of 67.7%.

In fact, the tendency of deck and patio percentages to move in opposite directions is evident throughout the 2005-2023 period. The correlation between the percentages over that span is -0.84, suggesting that patios on new homes have been functioning as a substitute for decks. When more new homes have patios, fewer have decks.

New homes with both a deck and patio do occur but are comparatively rare. Among single-family homes started in 2023, fewer than 6% featured both a deck and a patio.

Decks have been more common not only when but where patios are less common. For example, among single-family homes started in 2023, patios were least common (featured in only 17% of the homes) in the New England Census Division, the same division where a high of 76% of the homes featured decks. At the other extreme, in the West South Central a divisional high 81% of new homes featured patios in 2023, and a divisional low of 3% featured decks.

Upcoming Events

  • Zonda’s Q4 Housing Market Forecast

    Webinar

    Register Now
  • Zonda’s Building Products Forecast Webinar

    Webinar

    Register Now
  • Future Place

    Irving, TX

    Register Now
All Events