NAHB Data: The Most Time-Consuming Stage of Single-family Construction | LBM Journal
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The October 2026 Housing Market Index survey asked builders how long it takes to complete each of the seven major stages of construction traditionally used in NAHB’s construction cost surveys.
National Association of Home Builders
November 3, 2026
National Association of Home Builders
Interior finishes (drywall, interior doors, painting, cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, flooring, etc.) take more time to complete—6.4 weeks, on average—than any other major stage of single-family construction, according to results from the latest NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey.
After interior finishes, framing and major systems rough-ins (HVAC and plumbing/electrical other than fixtures) consume the most time: 3.7 weeks each. Final steps (landscaping, outdoor structures and clean-up) require 3.6 weeks, and exterior finishes (siding, roofing, windows & doors) require 3.4.
The earliest stages of the construction process, site work and foundations, require the least amount of time—a little over two weeks each, on average.
The most time-consuming stages of construction are also in general the costliest. In NAHB’s latest construction cost survey, for example, interior finishes account for over 24% of the builder’s construction costs, significantly more than any other stage of construction and roughly proportional to the amount of time that stage consumes in the overall construction process.
In total, NAHB’s October 2026 HMI survey shows that it takes 25.3 weeks (about 5.8 months) to build the average single-family detached home, close to the average time of 6.1 months from start to completion reported by the Census Bureau for a single-family home built for sale in 2025. The Census estimates show that custom homes (e.g., contractor-built homes built one at a time on the home owner’s lot, and owner-built homes where the owner functions as the general contractor) take significantly more time to complete.