+3.5% growth seen in global residential construction

A new report from the Freedonia Group forecasts that residential construction will increase an average of +3.5% per year between 2011 and 2016. This is expected to take the total market to 60.5 million units per year by 2016.

The strongest growth between 2011 and 2016 is expected to be in North America, at +10%. However, this will come from a very low based, following the downturn that began in 2006. As a result, the volume of 2.64 million residential units that is expected to be seen in 2016, will still be below the high of 3.14 million homes, built in 2006.

Europe is also expected to see steep grow - +6.3%, but again, this will see the market hit only 1.75 million housing units by 2016 - only about two thirds of the volume of 2.62 million homes, seen in 2006.

By far the largest region will be Asia-Pacific, where the residential construction segment is expected to rise to 37.75 million units by 2016, more than 60% of the global total. Unlike North America and Western Europe, Freedonia says this region did not see a slowdown between 2006 and 2011, with annual growth averaging +4.3%. However, the market is expected to rise by a more moderate +3.2% on average between 2011 and 2016.

Elsewhere in the world, the African and Middle Eastern housing market is expected to grow by +3.9% per year between 2011 and 2016 to 12.2 million units per year, while activity in the rest of the world is forecast to rise +2.2% per year to 6.14 million new homes per year.