Single-family housing permits continued a downhill trend for the sixth month in a row. The continuous decline in single-family permits highlights persistently weak housing demand, tied to affordability challenges like high mortgage rates. Builders appear cautious amid economic uncertainty, labor constraints, and rising inventories. The uptick in multi-family permits suggests a potentially stabilizing trend, though it’s important to note its volatility. The housing market’s mixed signals—weak single-family coupled with some resilience in multi-family—could mean continued drag on residential investment and the broader economy this year.
Over the first six months of 2025, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 485,935. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a decline of 5.6% over the June 2024 level of 514,728. For multifamily, the total number of permits issued nationwide reached 244,812. This is 2.9% higher compared to the June 2024 level of 237,935.
Year-to-date ending in June, single-family permits were up in one out of the four regions. The Midwest posted a small increase of 1.8%. The Northeast was 1.7% lower, the South was down by 6.5%, and the West was down by 8.1% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, three out of the four regions posted increases. The Midwest was up by 22.4%, the West was up by 8.0%, and the South was up by 7.1%, Meanwhile, the Northeast declined steeply by 30.0%, driven by the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ MSA which declined by 40.0%.
Between June 2025 YTD and June 2024 YTD, 15 states posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 19.9% in Hawaii to 0.2% in Kentucky. The remaining 35 states and the District of Columbia reported declines in single-family permits with the District of Columbia reporting the steepest decline of 24.2%.
The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 63.0% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 78,104 permits over the first six months of 2025; this is a decline of 8.0% compared to the same period last year. The second highest state, Florida, decreased by 10.6%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted a decline of 0.9%.
Between June 2025 YTD and June 2024 YTD, 29 states recorded growth in multifamily permits, while 21 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline. Iowa (+165.5%) led the way with a sharp rise in multifamily permits from 1,178 to 3,128, while Alabama had the largest decline of 49.6% from 1,788 to 901.
The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 61.8% of the multifamily permits issued. Over the first six months of 2025, Florida, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, experienced an increase of 25.0%. Texas, the second-highest state in multifamily permits, saw an increase of 14.1%. California, the third largest multifamily issuing state, increased by 11.5%.
At the local level, below are the 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.
