Published on January 5th, 2023

While the share of new homes with patios increased for the sixth year in a row in 2021, the share of homes completed with decks declined for the fifth year in a row to a post-2004 low, according to an NAHB analysis of Survey of Construction (SOC) data. The share of new homes with patios increased to 63%, while the share with decks declined to 17.5%.

The 2021 SOC data also indicate that decks and patios tend to function as geographical substitutes for each other. Across the nine Census divisions, the correlation between the percentages of new homes with decks and patios was -.81. The share of new homes with decks was at its lowest in the West, South Central, and South Atlantic divisions (7% and 13%, respectively), the same two divisions where the share of new homes with patios was at its highest (over 70%).

Decks on new homes nevertheless remain relatively popular in certain parts of the country. For example, over 60% of new homes in New England came with decks in 2021, followed by 47% in the West North Central and 41 percent in the Middle Atlantic. The New England and Middle Atlantic divisions are also the two divisions where patios on new homes are least common. The West North Central, however, stands out as the one division where the shares of new homes with decks and patios are both reasonably high (around 45%), providing the best evidence that the negative correlation between decks and patios, while quite strong at -.81, is not perfect.

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