Over the first ten months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 727,301. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 1.6% decline over the October 2018 level of 739,120.

Year-to-date ending in October, single-family permits reported declines in three regions and a slight increase in the South. The Northeast reported the steepest decline by 5.9%. The West and Midwest declined by 4.7% and 5.1% respectively, compared to the same time period in 2018. The Northeast region had the highest growth in multifamily (27.5%) while the Midwest recorded a decline in multifamily permits growth (-1.7%) during the last 12 months as housing affordability concerns reduce production of both single-family and multifamily residences.

Between October 2018 YTD and October 2019 YTD, 19 states and the District of Columbia saw growth in single-family permits issued while 31 states registered a decline. The District of Columbia recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 37.6% from 101 to 139, while single-family permits in Montana declined by 21.4%, from 2,331 in 2018 to 1,832 in 2019. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 60.6% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in October 2019, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 424,045. This is 11.1% ahead of its level over the year 2018, 381,842.

Between October 2018 YTD and October 2019 YTD, 33 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth while 17 states recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Alabama led the way with a sharp rise (88.7%) in multifamily permits from 1,244 to 2,347, while North Dakota had the largest decline of 50.5% from 1,261 to 624. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.3% of the multifamily permits issued.

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