Housing growth remains strong, 2025 Huntsville Development Review reveals
Published on January 27, 2026
Huntsville’s growth continued at a steady pace in 2025, as strong housing demand, new neighborhoods and expanding businesses contributed to Alabama’s fastest-growing city.
Nearly 5,000 new housing units came online last year, building on the record pace set in 2024, according to the City of Huntsville’s 2025 Development Review. The annual report, prepared by the City’s Planning Department, offers a clear picture of how people and investment are moving across the city and what those trends mean for Huntsville’s future.
Much of last year’s growth came from multi-family developments, reflecting a national surge in apartment construction. At the same time, single-family homebuilding is gaining momentum in Huntsville again.
“Huntsville’s growth is not slowing down, but it is evolving,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “We’re seeing strong demand for new retail and for new and existing homes. That tells us people continue to see Huntsville as a place to build their future.”
Single-family home construction
Huntsville is seeing an increase in single-family home construction while multi-family housing construction is slowing to historic averages after building booms in recent years. The Planning Commission approved 1,892 single-family lots in 2025 – the most approvals since 2007. The approvals are a revealing indicator in the single-family housing market and are expected to lead to increased single-family housing construction over the next two to three years.
The area with the largest number of housing starts in 2025 was near Wade Mountain in north Huntsville – including new single- and multi-family developments such as Jaguar Hills, Spragins Hollow and Beacon Place. The new housing is also a result of City investment in north Huntsville.
Last year set a high mark with 19 apartment complexes completed. Another 14 complexes with more than 3,200 units are under construction.
Renovations and home sales
In addition to new construction increases, residents are reinvesting in their homes. Huntsville saw a 6.4% increase in residential additions and alterations in 2025. North Huntsville saw increasing renovation activity, particularly in the Meadow Hills and Rolling Hills neighborhoods. Renovations also remained strong in south Huntsville.
Meanwhile, home sales saw an 8.7% climb last year, another data point underscoring a robust housing market.
“The 2025 Development Review shows that housing is still in high demand,” James Vandiver of the City’s Planning Department said. “From near-records for new housing units to steady home sales for existing ones, more people are calling Huntsville home than ever before.”
Commercial development
On the commercial side, the City issued more than 500 building permits for business construction with the western side of Cummings Research Park the most popular area. Multi-year projects such as the Huntsville Logistics Center, Hays Farm (offices and parks) and Redstone Gateway that started in 2025 continue moving forward.
2025 Development Review Data Dashboard
- 250,648 – City population estimate
- 4,813 – Certificates of occupancy issued
- 4% – Increase in residential additions and alterations
- 123,781 – Housing units added since April 1, 2020
- $401,218 – Average home sales price (record high)
- 3,278 – Homes sold, an 8.7% increase
- 500 – Commercial building permits
- 3,015 – Acres added in 18 annexations
- 4 – City size in square miles
- 28th – City national ranking for land size, just ahead of Chicago
Together, these numbers point to steady, measured growth – outward through annexations, upward through new construction and inward through reinvestment in established neighborhoods.
Data for this report was obtained from City records and the Valley Multiple Listing Service.