This dataset contains data on permits for residential construction collected in the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey. Data is aggregated to the County level. Data is only for final permits, not preliminary permits. Final permit data is published in May of the following year. Annual data are available from 1980 through the most recent reporting year, and may also contain imputed values. This dataset is part of the State of the Cities Data Systems (SOCDS).

Building Permits in the United States decreased to 1393 Thousand in June from 1394 Thousand in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Building Permits - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This study consists of data on building permits issued in 1984 based on reports submitted by building permit officials in U.S. municipalities (unless otherwise noted). The data include statistics on new construction, additions and alterations, and demolitions authorized by building permits. The variables include: number of families or type of structure; number of buildings; number of rooms; number of units; and cost of construction. NOTE: This abstract is based on a 1980-1984 summary; thus the variables may not be present, or additional variables may be present.

Graph and download economic data for New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units (PERMIT) from Jan 1960 to Jun 2025 about headline figure, permits, buildings, new, private, housing, and USA.

The Building Permits Survey provides data on the number and valuation of new housing units authorized by building permits. Data are available monthly, year-to-date, and annually at the national, Division, Region, state, county, and metropolitan area levels, and for individual jurisdictions. The data are from the Building Permits Survey.

The monthly Building Permits Survey collects data on the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities for both residential and non-residential buildings, and the number of residential dwellings authorized. The survey also measures the number of dwelling units demolished.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Housing Permits (LU3)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Permitted housing units

LAST UPDATED
February 2023

DESCRIPTION
Housing growth is measured in terms of the number of units that local jurisdictions permit throughout a given year. A permitted unit is a unit that a city or county has authorized for construction.

DATA SOURCE
California Housing Foundation/Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) - https://www.cirbreport.org/
Construction Review report (1967-2022)

Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) – Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) - https://data.bayareametro.gov/Development/HCD-Annual-Progress-Report-Jurisdiction-Summary/nxbj-gfv7
Housing Permits Database (2014-2021)

Census Bureau Building Permit Survey - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/
Building permits by county (annual, monthly)

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Bay Area housing permits data by single/multi family come from the California Housing Foundation/Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB). Affordability breakdowns from 2014 to 2021 come from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) – Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Housing Permits Database.

Single-family housing units include detached, semi-detached, row house and town house units. Row houses and town houses are included as single-family units when each unit is separated from the adjacent unit by an unbroken ground-to-roof party or fire wall. Condominiums are included as single-family units when they are of zero-lot-line or zero-property-line construction; when units are separated by an air space; or, when units are separated by an unbroken ground-to-roof party or fire wall. Multi-family housing includes duplexes, three-to-four-unit structures and apartment-type structures with five units or more. Multi-family also includes condominium units in structures of more than one living unit that do not meet the single-family housing definition.

Each multi-family unit is counted separately even though they may be in the same building. Total units is the sum of single-family and multi-family units. County data is available from 1967 whereas city data is available from 1990. City data is only available for incorporated cities and towns. All permits in unincorporated cities and towns are included under their respective county’s unincorporated total. Permit data is not available for years when the city or town was not incorporated.

Affordable housing is the total number of permitted units affordable to low and very low income households. Housing affordable to very low income households are households making below 50% of the area median income. Housing affordable to low income households are households making between 50% and 80% of the area median income. Housing affordable to moderate income households are households making below 80% and 120% of the area median income. Housing affordable to above moderate income households are households making above 120% of the area median income.

Permit data is missing for the following cities and years:
Clayton, 1990-2007
Lafayette, 1990-2007
Moraga, 1990-2007
Orinda, 1990-2007
San Ramon, 1990

Building permit data for metropolitan areas for each year is the sum of non-seasonally adjusted monthly estimates from the Census Building Permit Survey. The Bay Area values are the sum of the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward MSA and the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA. The counties included in these areas are: San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito.

Permit values reflect the number of units permitted in each respective year. Note that the data columns come from difference sources. The columns (SFunits, MFunits, TOTALunits, SF_Share and MF_Share) are sourced from CIRB. The columns (VeryLowunits, Lowunits, Moderateunits, AboveModerateunits, VeryLow_Share, Low_Share, Moderate_Share, AboveModerate_Share, Affordableunits and Affordableunits_Share) are sourced from the ABAG Housing Permits Database. Due to the slightly different methodologies that exist within each of those datasets, the total units from each of the two sources might not be consistent with each other.

As shown, three different data sources are used for this analysis of housing permits issued in the Bay Area. Data from the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) represents the best available data source for examining housing permits issued over time in cities and counties across the Bay Area, dating back to 1967. In recent years, Annual Progress Report (APR) data collected by the California Department of Housing and Community Development has been available for analyzing housing permits issued by affordability levels. Since CIRB data is only available for California jurisdictions, the U.S. Census Bureau provides the best data source for comparing housing permits issued across different metropolitan areas. Notably, annual permit totals for the Bay Area differ across these three data sources, reflecting the limitations of needing to use different data sources for different purposes.

This study contains data regarding the issuance of building permits for residential construction by county, permit issuing place, and permit type. The data are obtained from respondents completing a Form C-404 or are estimated. The data cover various years ranging from January 1988 to December 2003 in the Northeast Census Region. The data contain information on the type of building, the type of construction applied for (addition, renovation, demolition), and costs of construction.

New Residential Construction provides national and regional data on the number of new housing units authorized by building permits; authorized, but not started; started; under construction; and completed. The data are for new, privately-owned housing units, excluding "HUD-code" manufactured (mobile) homes. The data are from the Building Permit Survey, and from the Survey of Construction (SOC), which is partially funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

This study consists of data on building permits issued in 1982 based on reports submitted by building permit officials in U.S. municipalities (unless otherwise noted). The data include statistics on new construction, additions and alterations, and demolitions authorized by building permits. The variables include: number of families or type of structure; number of buildings; number of rooms; number of units; and cost of construction. NOTE: This abstract is based on a 1980-1984 summary; thus the variables may not be present, or additional variables may be present.

Building Permits survey results for Bedford, TX conducted by FlashVote

Building Permits in Finland decreased to 1044 Units in December from 1241 Units in November of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Finland Building Permits - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Building Department and Permits survey results for Rancho Cucamonga, CA conducted by FlashVote

Building permits for homes in the European Union (EU-27) experienced a significant decline betwen 2021 and 2024. In 2021, permits were approved for **** million housing units. However, by 2024, this number fell to **** million. The year when housing permits decreased the most was 2023, when housing permits were **** percent lower than the previous year. Among those approvals, nearly twice as many multifamily units were permitted compared to single-family homes. Which country built more homes? Despite the overall decline in EU building permits, individual countries showed varying levels of residential construction activity. Turkey had the highest number of housing units approved by building permits in 2023, with more than ******* units. France followed with ******* units. However, that was partly so because they were the largest countries in Europe. When comparing the number of construction starts of new residential properties per 1,000 citizens, Ireland led with approximately **** new residences per 1,000 citizens, while Italy had only **** new residences per 1,000 citizens.

Real estate investment outlook The decrease in building permits aligns with shifting sentiments in the European real estate industry. According to a 2024 survey of industry experts, investment prospects for house building declined after 2022. However, the prospect score for real estate investment in 2025 increased to **** out of 5 (on a scale from 1 = poor to 5 = excellent). These trends suggest that, despite challenges in residential construction, real estate development activities may start growing again.

This dataset consists of residential building permits issued in the 7-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area from 2009 through 2024.

The data were obtained through an annual survey sent to communities by the Metropolitan Council and from the U.S. Census Bureau. The data on returned surveys were verified by Metropolitan Council staff through various means. Data from the Residential Construction Branch of the Manufacturing and Construction Division of the U.S. Census Bureau were used if a community did not return the survey. Data may be periodically updated to reflect corrections.

Graph and download economic data for New Private Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits for Massachusetts (MABPPRIV) from Jan 1988 to Apr 2025 about MA, permits, buildings, new, private, housing, and USA.

Building permit data for Statistics Canada Building Permit Survey (BDP) Section D: Residential Demolitions. Section D includes all permits for residential demolitions.

Data will only be made available for Municipalities that have signed an agreement to release their municipal permit data on datazONE.

Building permit data for Statistics Canada Building Permit Survey (BDP) Section A: Major Construction Projects. Section A includes all residential permits which are for more than $50 000 or which result in the creation or demolition of a unit. This section also covers all non-residential permits of more than $250 000.

Data will only be made available for Municipalities that have signed an agreement to release their municipal permit data on datazONE.

Building permit data for Statistics Canada Building Permit Survey (BDP) Section B: Minor Residential Additions and Renovations. Section B includes all permits for minor additions and renovations, that is, those of a value of less than $50 000.

Data will only be made available for Municipalities that have signed an agreement to release their municipal permit data on datazONE.

Building permit data for Statistics Canada Building Permit Survey (BDP) Section C: Minor Non-Residential Projects. Section C includes all permits for minor non-residential projects with a value of less than $250 000.

Data will only be made available for Municipalities that have signed an agreement to release their municipal permit data on datazONE.