Over the first nine months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 713,286. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 10.2% increase over the September 2019 level of 647,244.

Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 12.4% in the South to an increase of 6.2% in the Northeast. In multifamily permits, all four regions reported declines; West (-9.4%), Northeast (-7.5%), South (-5.6%), and the Midwest (-2.7%).

Between September 2019 YTD and September 2020 YTD, 42 states saw growth in single-family permits issued while eight states and the District of Columbia registered a decline. South Dakota recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 32.0% from 2,186 to 2,885 while single-family permits in the District of Columbia declined by 22.2%, from 126 in 2019 to 98 in 2020. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 61.2% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in September 2020, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 346,617. This is 6.5% decline over the September 2019 level of 370,830.

Between September 2019 YTD and September 2020 YTD, 18 states recorded growth while 32 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Mississippi led the way with a sharp rise (139.0%) in multifamily permits from 246 to 588, while New Hampshire reported the largest decline of 66.4% from 1,148 to 386. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.8% of the multifamily permits issued.

At the local level, below are top 10 metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.

For multifamily permits, below are the top 10 local areas that issued the highest number of permits:

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