According to the Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey (BPS), over the first ten months of 2017 the total number of permits, which included single-family and multi-family, issued nationwide on a not seasonally adjusted basis reached 1,070,750. This is 6.8% ahead of its level over the first ten months of 2016, 1,002,139.

These data are taken from the Builder Permits Survey (BPS) instead of the Survey of Construction (SOC). The SOC is the source of the monthly New Residential Construction release and it shows that total permits over the first ten months of the year totaled 1,067,200, 5.8% ahead of its level the same period in 2016, 1,008,800. The SOC does not provide residential construction information at the state and local level.

Between October 2016 to October 2017, 37 states and the District of Columbia saw a growth in the total number of permits issued. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia recorded a growth above 6.8% while 13 states had a decline in growth. New York had the highest growth rate at 24.4% while Oregon only grew by 0.3% during this period. Out of the 13 states that had a decline, the largest decline was in Connecticut with 18.8%.

The highest number of total permits were issued by the below states as of October 2017, year-to-date. Combined they account for 56.9% of the total number of permits issued:

• Texas – 143,108
• Florida – 102,071
• California – 93,260
• North Carolina – 54,052
• Georgia – 43,550
• Washington – 38,345
• Colorado – 35,453
• New York – 34,227
• Tennessee – 33,622
• Arizona – 32,110

Over the ten months ending in October 2017, the total number of single-family permits issued nationwide reached 699,374. This is 10.1% ahead of its level over the first ten months of 2016, 635,145. Between October 2016 to October 2017, 45 states and the District of Columbia saw a growth in single-family permits issued. Similar to total permits, 21 states and the District of Columbia recorded a growth above 10.1% but five states had a decline in growth. Hawaii had the highest growth rate during this time at 30.1% while North Dakota declined by 10.6%. The results from the SOC are similar, single-family permits over the first ten months of 2017, 698,600 are 10.2% ahead of their level over the same period of 2016, 634,100.

In the single-family sector, Texas led with 97,480 permits issued year-to-date in October 2017, while the lowest number came from the District of Columbia with 326 permits.  The 10 states issued the highest number of single-family permits are listed below. Combined they account for 57.8% of the single-family permits issued.

• Texas – 97,480
• Florida – 71,675
• California – 48,499
• North Carolina – 39,723
• Georgia – 34,271
• South Carolina – 24,417
• Tennessee – 24,007
• Arizona – 23,500
• Colorado – 20,912
• Virginia – 19,892

Compared to September 2017, all the states and the District of Columbia saw single-family permit growth with Iowa posting the largest increase at 18.4%.

Year-to-date, ending in October 2017, the total number of multi-family permits issued nationwide reached 371,376. This is 1.2% ahead of its level over the first ten months of 2016, 366,994. The results from the SOC show a small decline of 2.5% in multi-family permits over the first ten months of 2017, 337,900 compared to the same period of 2016, 346,400.

Between October 2016 to October 2017, 28 states and the District of Columbia grew while 22 states recorded a decline in multi-family permits. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia recorded a growth above 1.2%. Mississippi lead the way with a growth of 173.1%, from 364 to 994, while Rhode Island had the largest decline of 82.8% from 256 to 44.

In the multi-family sector, Texas issued the highest number of permits in October 2017 year-to-date at 45,628 while Rhode Island issued 44 multi-family permits. Below are the top 10 states which issued the highest number of multi-family permits as of October. Combined they account for 61.7% of the multi-family permits issued.

• Texas – 45,628
• California – 44,761
• Florida – 30,396
• New York – 23,973
• Washington – 18,593
• New Jersey – 15,197
• Colorado – 14,541
• North Carolina – 14,329
• Illinois – 11,998
• Tennessee – 9,615

Compared to September 2017, all the states and the District of Columbia saw multi-family permit growth with District of Columbia posting the largest increase at 62.1%.

Tags: economics, home building, housing, Housing permits, state and local markets