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Sacramento Region sees strongest homebuilding year since 2005.

Vitaliy Moskalenko

Vitaliy Moskalenko

— 3 min read
Sacramento Region sees strongest homebuilding year since 2005.
Cover design symbolizing Sacramento’s surge in new home construction.

Homebuilding across the Sacramento region is gaining momentum, with recent numbers pointing to the strongest year in nearly two decades.

Builders completed 12,538 homes in 2024, according to new figures from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and the state Department of Finance. That’s more than double the 2,664 units built during the 2011 recession low and the highest annual total since before the housing crash, though still shy of the 22,343 units built in 2004, the peak of the early 2000s boom.

Since 2001, the region has added nearly 240,000 homes while its population grew by nearly 650,000 people. Looking ahead, SACOG expects housing production between 2020 and 2035 to average 10,406 homes per year.

Single-Family Still Leads, But Multifamily is Rising

Single-family homes remain the majority of new construction, though their share has gradually declined. In 2004, more than 80% of new housing was single-family (18,617 homes). By 2024, that share had dropped to 67%, or 8,424 units, with 3,557 of those in small-lot subdivisions.

Multifamily construction has climbed steadily. Developers built 4,114 multifamily units in 2024 — about one-third of the total — compared with 1,249 units in 2018. Most of those were in large complexes with five or more units (3,962 units), while 152 were in duplexes, triplexes, or four-plexes.

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have also seen rapid growth. Just 50 were built in 2018; by 2024, the number had climbed to 758, representing about 6% of new homes.

How Production Stacks Up Against Population

State housing officials assume that the average household in California has about 2.5 people. Put another way, for every 2.5 new residents, the region should add one new home. That works out to about 0.4 housing units for each new resident. Using that benchmark, Sacramento’s performance has swung up and down over the years:

  • 2004: 22,343 homes — covering 125% of demand from 44,541 new residents.
  • 2011: 2,664 homes — covering 31% of demand for 21,426 residents.
  • 2024: 12,538 homes — covering 106% of demand for 29,623 residents.

The Department of Finance estimates Sacramento produced 3.7 units per 1,000 residents in 2024, above the statewide average of 2.93 but below the 10.47 per 1,000 seen in 2004. By comparison, San Diego built 3.1 per 1,000 residents, the Bay Area 2.8, and Los Angeles 3.0.

How Sacramento Compares

In statewide context, the Sacramento region’s 2024 output sits in the middle:

  • Southern California: 55,827 homes
  • Bay Area: 21,313 homes
  • San Diego: 10,331 homes
  • Central Valley (excluding Sacramento): 10,453 homes
  • Statewide total: 115,551 homes

Sacramento’s 67% single-family share is higher than the Bay Area (36%) and Southern California (54%), showing the region’s slower shift toward density.

SACOG notes that some smaller jurisdictions — including Isleton, Marysville, Wheatland, Colfax, Winters, and Live Oak — have not consistently reported data since 2018, meaning the totals may be slightly understated.

The next Housing Permit Inventory update, expected in 2026, will include full 2025 numbers.

Data for this report comes from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments’ Housing Permit Inventory and Department of Finance population estimates. The full dataset is available at SACOG.

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