Over the first seven months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 496,726. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 4.7% decline over the July 2018 level of 521,438.

Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits reported declines in all four regions. The Midwest, Northeast, South, and the West declined by 8.7%, 1.6%, 2.8%, and 7.7% respectively, compared to the same time period in 2018. The Southern region had the highest growth in multifamily (9.0%) while the West recorded a decline in multifamily permits growth (-0.8%) during the last 12 months as housing affordability concerns reduce production of both single-family and multifamily residences.

Between July 2018 YTD and July 2019 YTD, 13 states and the District of Columbia saw growth in single-family permits issued while 37 states registered a decline. The District of Columbia recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 77.3% from 66 to 117, while single-family permits in Montana declined by 25.1%, from 1624 in 2018 to 1216 in 2019. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 60.9% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in July 2019, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 276,841. This is 4.9% ahead of its level over the year 2018, 263,897.

Between July 2018 YTD and July 2019 YTD, 29 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth while 21 states recorded a decline in multifamily permits. District Of Columbia led the way with a sharp rise (139.7%) in multifamily permits from 1659 to 3976, while North Dakota had the largest decline of 61.6% from 567 to 218. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 62.7% of the multifamily permits issued.

Tags: home building, multifamily, single-family, state and local markets, state permits