Custom single-family home starts (169,000) in 2016 increased eight percent compared to 2015 and is a new post-recession high for an annual total, the National Association of Home Builders said.

"This definition of custom homebuilding does not include homes intended for sale, so the analysis uses a narrow definition of the sector," said Robert Dietz, chief economist for the NAHB. A custom home start is defined as any home built on an owner's land, with either the owner or a builder acting as the general contractor.

"As measured on a one-year moving average, the market share of custom homebuilding, in terms of total single-family starts, is now 21.5 percent, down from a cycle high of 31.5 percent set during the second quarter of 2009," Dietz said.

The onset of the housing crisis and the Great Recession interrupted a 15-year long trend away from homes built on the eventual owner's land, Dietz added.