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

Building Permits in the United States decreased to 1394 Thousand in May from 1422 Thousand in April 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 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).To retrieve the full database, including monthly permit totals and permit totals by metropolitan statistical area or municipalities, please visit: https://socds.huduser.gov/permits/To learn more about the Residential Construction Permit SOCDS, please visit: https://socds.huduser.gov/permits/help.htm, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Data Dictionary: DD_Residential Construction Permits by CountyDate of Coverage: 1980 - 2022

Housing permit data is derived from reports and publications compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau's Residential Construction Statistics Division. Municipalities provide the U.S. Census Bureau with tabulations of the number of housing units authorized, according to types of structures. In the few cases where municipalities reported building permit approvals for some months but not for all 12 months, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the total yearly number of units approved based on past years’ approvals.

Texas and Florida were the states with most residential building permits issued in 2024, with roughly ******* and ******* permits issued, respectively. On the other side of the spectrum, Alaska and Rhode Island issued fewer permits than any other state. The overall number of building permits for new residential construction in the U.S. has fluctuated a lot in the past years.

Graph and download economic data for New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Single-Family Units (PERMIT1) from Jan 1960 to May 2025 about 1-unit structures, permits, family, buildings, new, private, housing, and USA.

In May 2025, there were ******* permits for new residential construction in the United States. Despite some fluctuations, the number of building permits issued in the past couple of years has been falling. The number of U.S. new home construction starts has also been lower than in previous years.

There were approximately 982,000 building permits for single-family housing units granted in the United States in 2024. That number was lower than in 2021, when the number of building permits peaked. However, those figures increased again in 2024. The numbers still remain considerably lower than its 2005 peak with 1.68 million building permits.

What is considered a single-family home? Single-family homes are detached, independent properties built as the residence for one person, family, or household. In 2025, it is expected that the number of single-family housing units under construction in the United States will increase to over 1.1 million. In 2024, New York was one of the cities in the U.S. with the highest construction costs for residential single-family buildings. However, there were significant differences between the costs of a multi-family and a single-detached home. What is the price of a single-family home in the United States? Price is one of the main factors in deciding whether to buy an existing or new home. In 2023, the median sales price of an existing single-family home in the United States increased slightly, reaching 389,300 U.S. dollars. However, the price of single-family houses can vary a lot depending on its location and other factors.

Key information about US Building Permits

• United States Building Permits data was reported at 111,517.000 Unit in Jan 2025.
• This records a decrease from the previous number of 112,592.000 Unit for Dec 2024.
• US Building Permits data is updated monthly, averaging 112,592.000 Unit from Jan 1959 to Jan 2025, with 793 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 214,600.000 Unit in Jun 1972 and a record low of 36,280.000 Unit in Jan 2011.
• US Building Permits data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Global Economic Monitor – Table: Building Permits: Monthly.

Building Permits MoM in the United States decreased by 2 percent in May from -4 percent in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Building Permits MoM.

Building Permits in France decreased to 29473 Units in May from 33988 Units in April of 2025. This dataset provides - France Housing Permits- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This dataset includes information about building permits issued by the City of Chicago from 2006 to the present, excluding permits that have been voided or revoked after issuance. Most types of permits are issued subject to payment of the applicable permit fee. Work under a permit may not begin until the applicable permit fee is paid.

For more information about building permits, see http://www.chicago.gov/permit.

Building Permits in Netherlands decreased to 5356 Units in April from 5750 Units in March of 2025. This dataset provides - Netherlands Building Permits- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Most of the new housing permits for privately owned projects in the United States in 2023 were either single-family buildings. Nevertheless, the number of permits for multifamily construction projects with 5 housing units or more has risen significantly in the past decade. The south of the United States was the region where the highest number of single-family building permits were issued.

This is a filtered view of the Building Permits dataset. This dataset only shows building permits where the 'Permit Creation Date' is after December 31, 2012 23:59:59.

A. SUMMARY The dataset includes details of all building permit applications filed with the Department of Building Inspection. Permit numbers and associated information may be repeated in multiple rows if there are multiple addresses associated with the permit. To view the deduplicated building permits dataset with just the primary address, click here. Data is uploaded nightly by DBI. Users can view associated addenda, routing, and inspection information for each permit in the dataset online through DBI’s Permit Tracking System here.

A full data dictionary for this dataset is available by clicking here.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED The dataset is created by extracting permit characteristics and key dates (including permit filing, issuance, and completion dates) from DBI’s Permit Tracking System.

C. UPDATE PROCESS The process that builds this dataset will run nightly and include all permits entered into the system up to the time of the refresh (see the “data as of” column in the dataset).

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET Users can use this dataset to search for all permits associated with a specific address or parcel number and view characteristics like addresses, permit descriptions of work, unit counts, valuations, etc. If the analytical objective is to measure permitting trends for all addresses, we recommend using the primary address building permits dataset.

Note: if you need to open this dataset in Excel, use one of the pre-filtered datasets. Opening the main dataset in Excel will cause some data to be lost as there are more than one million rows in the full dataset.

1. Building Permits filed on or after January 1, 2013
2. Building Permits filed before January 1, 2013

E. RELATED DATASETS Department of Building Inspections Permits Data Building Permits (Unique) Building Permit Addenda with Routing Building Permits Contacts Electrical Permits Plumbing Permits Boiler Permits Dwelling Unit Completion Counts by Building Permit

Planning Department Permits Planning Department Permits

Public Works Construction Permits Department of Public Works Street Use Permits Department of Public Works Large Utility Excavation Permits

Fire Department Permits Fire Department Permits

Other housing/ construction related datasets related to building permits Planning Department Housing Development Pipeline Quarterly datasets

Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development: Affordable Housing Pipeline Affordable Housing Pipeline

For even more permit datasets, click this link and search “Permits.”

Building Permits in Sweden decreased to 8176 Units in the first quarter of 2025 from 8349 Units in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Sweden Building Permits for New Construction- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

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.

Idaho and North Caroline were in 2023 the U.S. states with the highest volume of new residential construction, with over **** units authorized per 1,000 residents. On average, that year in the U.S. there were **** homes authorized per 1,000 residents. The most populous states in the U.S. tend to have the highest demand for housing.

A. SUMMARY This view is a combination of the Building Permits and Building Permit Contacts datasets. A single building permit may have one or multiple contacts associated with it. Building Permit Contacts includes the contact name, address, license numbers, and/or firm or company of the contact. Building Permit Applications may also be repeated if multiple addresses are listed for a single permit.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED This view is created by merging the Building Permits and Building Permits Contacts datasets based on the Building Permit Application number.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This view is updated daily from the published Building Permits and Building Permits datasets.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET This view can be used to identify all the Building Permit Contacts associated with a Building Permit Application and see information about the Building Permit Application itself. A single building permit may have one or multiple contacts associated with it. This view is not a deduplicated list of Building Permit Applications.

E. RELATED DATASETS Department of Building Inspections Permits Data Building Permits (Unique) Building Permit Addenda with Routing Building Permits Contacts Electrical Permits Plumbing Permits Boiler Permits Dwelling Unit Completion Counts by Building Permit

Planning Department Permits Planning Department Permits

Public Works Construction Permits Department of Public Works Street Use Permits Department of Public Works Large Utility Excavation Permits

Fire Department Permits Fire Department Permits

Other housing/ construction related datasets related to building permits Planning Department Housing Development Pipeline Quarterly datasets

Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development: Affordable Housing Pipeline Affordable Housing Pipeline

For even more permit datasets, click this link and search “Permits.”