National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Multifamily Permits Strong At The End of First Quarter of 2022

Over the first three months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 278,189. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 0.8% increase over the March 2021 level of 276,110.

Year-to-date ending in March, single-family permits declined in three out of the four regions. The South posted a modest increase of 4.8% while the Midwest region reported the steepest decline of 11.2%. The Northeast declined by 9.4% and the Western region reported a 0.9% decline in single-family permits during this time. Multifamily permits posted double digit increases in all four regions. Permits were 41.5% higher in the Midwest, 14.9% higher in the South, 14.0% higher in the West, and 11.8% higher in the Northeast.

Between March 2021 YTD and March 2022 YTD, 18 states and the District of Columbia saw growth in single-family permits issued. The District of Columbia recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 50.0% going from 80 permits to 120. Thirty-two states reported a decline in single-family permits during this time with Iowa posting the steepest decline of 24.8%. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 65.7% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in March 2022, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 153,720. This is 17.1% ahead over the March 2021 level of 131,227.

Between March 2021 YTD and March 2022 YTD, 30 states recorded growth while 20 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Indiana led the way with a sharp rise (304.4%) in multifamily permits from 517 to 2091 while Rhode Island had the largest decline of 88.4% from 121 to 14. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 62.4% of the multifamily permits issued.

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


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





Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Blog via Email