Building Permits in the United States decreased to 1459 Thousand in February from 1473 Thousand in January 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.

Residential building permits in United States were in short demand in 2018, rising only 2.8 percent across the country. Many large cities have reduced the number of residential building permits, such as Chicago, which handed out 22 percent less permits in 2018 than the previous year. Building permits may specifically apply to large housing units with multiple living spaces, to single family houses. Before construction can begin on any new or existing building, a permit must be obtained from the appropriate city council. Building permit numbers have increased significantly in both Houston, Texas and Orlando, Florida metro areas, with 34.5 and 51.5 percent more permits issued in 2018 than 2017, respectively.

Homes are where the heat is Generally speaking, the construction of new homes can be a good indicator of how local economies are fairing, as it can mean that individuals have acquired enough wealth to own their own home or businesses are expanding. The 2018 residential building permit figures provide some insight into the current demographic of cities, particularly with regards to the job market. For instance, in the „snowbird“state of Florida, 45 percent of new residents in Orlando were between ages 25 and 54, and presumably their careers still play a large role. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sandford metro area is within close range of engineering firms such as Lockheed Martin, as well as new tech companies, which offer higher salaries and better prospects than other industries. Florida unemployment continues to decline and dropped to 3.6 percent in 2018.
Incidentally, cities that tend to be popular for Americans in their early twenties, tend to be the cities that are reducing their number of new residential building permits (Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; and Los Angeles, California). But this does not mean that these cities are in financial trouble. Chicago’s GDP is steadily growing and unemployment in Illinois was at 4.3 percent in 2018. Bigger and denser cities tend to attract younger groups as they can walk from location to location and remain amongst the excitement that cities have to offer.

Housing Starts in the United States increased to 1501 Thousand units in February from 1350 Thousand units in January of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus 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.

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

United States - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Single-Family Units was 83.60000 Thous. of Units in February of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Single-Family Units reached a record high of 170.40000 in May of 2005 and a record low of 22.70000 in January of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Single-Family Units - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Permit records from the City of Seattle permitting system for building permits that create or demolish housing units. Records begin in 1990 and are through the current year quarter.

The permits in this layer are those that have either been completed or are currently issued. This data does not contain records for those permits that were issued but were not completed so are therefore not comparable to statistics that report permit issuance.

Each record represents the number of units added or demolished for each housing type in the project. Therefore a single building permit may appear multiple times if there are a mix of unit types in the project.

Housing unit types reflect the unit types regulated by the building codes and change through time. There has been no attempt to standardize these types and therefore reflect the unit types that existed at the time the permit was issued.

There may be multiple permits at any given address.

New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Single-Family Units in the Midwest Census Region was 8.30000 Thous. of Units in February of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Single-Family Units in the Midwest Census Region reached a record high of 31.70000 in May of 1978 and a record low of 1.40000 in January of 1982. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Single-Family Units in the Midwest Census Region - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Analysis of ‘Built Units Past Decade’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/851486c9-3411-40f9-bc22-dbf273011209 on 13 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Permit records from the City of Seattle permitting system for building permits that create or demolish housing units. Records begin from the beginning of the previous decade from the current quarter year.

The permits in this layer are those that have been completed. This data does not contain records for those permits that were issued but were not completed so are therefore not comparable to statistics that report permit issuance.

Each record represents the number of units added or demolished for each housing type in the project. Therefore a single building permit may appear multiple times if there are a mix of unit types in the project.

Housing unit types reflect the unit types regulated by the building codes and change through time. There has been no attempt to standardize these types and therefore reflect the unit types that existed at the time the permit was issued.

There may be multiple permits at any given address.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

This table publishes figures on: - the number of new homes for which an 'environmental permit with activity building' (previously building permits) has been granted; - the number of new homes still to be completed. - the number of completed new homes. This data is broken down into the following characteristics: - region: parts of the country, provinces, COROP areas, city regions, metropolitan agglomerations and municipalities; - clients; - ownership form. And for the completed homes: - home size number of rooms; - housing type single-family and multi-family homes. Data available from 1995 to 2011. Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final. When will new numbers come out? This table was discontinued on 29 March 2013. Reason for discontinuation: This table has not been updated after the 2011 reporting period with figures on completed new-build homes. These figures come from January 2012 from the Key Registers of Addresses and Buildings (BAG) and will be published in May 2013 in new tables. The figures on permits for new-build homes are continued in a new table 'New-build homes, permits' (see also section 3)

Building Permits issued in the City of Victoria in the last 365 days. Includes business contact information for the Business, Builder, Electrician, or Plumber who applied for the permit.Building Permits data are copied to the Open Data Portal daily. Building Permit Types include: building, electrical, plumbing, liquor, occupancy, sign, and miscellaneous. Status Types included: Active, Cancelled, Completed, Expired, Holdback, In-Progress, New, On Hold, Received, Retired.Building permits may include: alternative solutions, awning, blasting, commercial, complex, demolition, excavation, fire alarm, interior only, noise exemption, residential (multi, single family, and duplex), and strip out.If a building permit's status is "completed", then it means it has an occupancy permit, otherwise it would be cancelled or expired indicating that occupancy was not granted. You can filter on the "Status" field to show all records that are "Completed", and thus have an occupancy permit.Electrical permits may include: woodstove, commercial, fire alarm, entertainment, operating, residential, security/access, temporary service.Includes business contact information for the Business, Builder, Electrician, or Plumber who applied for the permit.Data are updated by city staff as needed, and automatically copied to the Open Data Portal. The "Last Updated" date shown on our Open Data Portal refers to the last time the data schema was modified in the portal, or any changes were made to this description. We update our data through automated scripts which does not trigger the "last updated" date to change.

Analysis of ‘Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs)’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/4c6b24a8-cc8f-4850-800d-52ba872ed6b1 on 12 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Permit records from the City of Seattle permitting system for building permits that create or demolish detached accessory dwelling units (DADU). Records begin in 1990 and are through the current year quarter.

The permits in this layer are those that have either been completed or are currently issued. This data does not contain records for those permits that were issued but were not completed so are therefore not comparable to statistics that report permit issuance.

Each record represents the number of units added or demolished for each housing type in the project. Therefore a single building permit may appear multiple times if there are a mix of unit types in the project.

Housing unit types reflect the unit types regulated by the building codes and change through time. There has been no attempt to standardize these types and therefore reflect the unit types that existed at the time the permit was issued. Unit types will be visible only for the time period they were in the code. For example, small efficiency dwelling units were not created in the code until 2016 and so will not appear as a type until that year.

There may be multiple permits at any given address.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Completed and Active Building Permits issued in the City of Victoria, from 1994 to present. If you are looking for a smaller dataset of more recent records, please search for "Building Permits Issued in the Last Year" instead.Building Permits data are copied to the Open Data Portal on a weekly basis. Building Permit Types include: building, electrical, plumbing, liquor, occupancy, sign, and miscellaneous. Building permits may include: alternative solutions, awning, blasting, commercial, complex, demolition, excavation, fire alarm, interior only, noise exemption, residential (multi, single family, and duplex), and strip out.If a building permit's status is "completed", then it means it has an occupancy permit, otherwise it would be cancelled or expired indicating that occupancy was not granted. You can filter on the "Status" field to show all records that are "Completed", and thus have an occupancy permit.Electrical permits may include: woodstove, commercial, fire alarm, entertainment, operating, residential, security/access, temporary service.Includes business contact information for the Business, Builder, Electrician, or Plumber who applied for the permit.The "Last Updated" date shown on our Open Data Portal refers to the last time the data schema was modified in the portal, or any changes were made to this description. We update our data through automated scripts which does not trigger the "last updated" date to change.Note: Attributes represent each field in a dataset, and some fields will contain information such as ID numbers. As a result some visualizations on the tabs on our Open Data page will not be relevant.

If the download button on the Open Data Portal is not working, click here to download the latest CSV file. Sometimes the portal gets stuck but this link still works.Building Permits issued in the City of Victoria in the last 60 days. Includes business contact information for the Business, Builder, Electrician, or Plumber who applied for the permit.Building Permits data are copied to the Open Data Portal daily. Building Permit Types include: building, electrical, plumbing, liquor, occupancy, sign, and miscellaneous. Status Types included: Active, Cancelled, Completed, Expired, Holdback, In-Progress, New, On Hold, Received, Retired.Building permits may include: alternative solutions, awning, blasting, commercial, complex, demolition, excavation, fire alarm, interior only, noise exemption, residential (multi, single family, and duplex), and strip out.If a building permit's status is "completed", then it means it has an occupancy permit, otherwise it would be cancelled or expired indicating that occupancy was not granted. You can filter on the "Status" field to show all records that are "Completed", and thus have an occupancy permit.Electrical permits may include: woodstove, commercial, fire alarm, entertainment, operating, residential, security/access, temporary service.Includes business contact information for the Business, Builder, Electrician, or Plumber who applied for the permit.Data are updated by city staff as needed, and automatically copied to the Open Data Portal. The "Last Updated" date shown on our Open Data Portal refers to the last time the data schema was modified in the portal, or any changes were made to this description. We update our data through automated scripts which does not trigger the "last updated" date to change.

Spain Building Permits: Number of Dwellings: New: Independent Housing: More than One Family data was reported at 3,816.000 Unit in Jan 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,598.000 Unit for Dec 2017. Spain Building Permits: Number of Dwellings: New: Independent Housing: More than One Family data is updated monthly, averaging 10,676.000 Unit from Jan 2000 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 217 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 59,286.000 Unit in Nov 2006 and a record low of 753.000 Unit in May 2013. Spain Building Permits: Number of Dwellings: New: Independent Housing: More than One Family data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Public Works. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.EA006: Building Permits: Number and Surface Area.

This dataset only includes Building Permits issued Jan.1, 2014 - Dec. 31, 2023. It is used for statistics display purposes on our Open Data Portal to capture a 10 year window. For a list of all Building Permits that is updated daily, see our Building Permits datasets (All, last 60 days, or last 365 days) instead.Permits: building, electrical, plumbing, liquor, occupancy, sign, miscellaneous.Building permits may include: alternative solutions, awning, blasting, commercial, complex, demolition, excavation, fire alarm, interior only, noise exemption, residential (multi, single family, and duplex), strip out.If a building permit's status is "completed", then it means it has an occupancy permit, otherwise it would be cancelled or expired indicating that occupancy was not granted. You can filter on the "Status" field to show all records that are "Completed", and thus have an occupancy permit.Electrical permits may include: woodstove, commercial, fire alarm, entertainment, operating, residential, security/access, temporary service.Note: Attributes represent each field in a dataset, and some fields will contain information such as ID numbers. As a result some visualizations on the tabs on our Open Data page will not be relevant.

Analysis of ‘Attached Accessory Dwelling Units (AADUs)’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/cc8e5c28-c23a-4e56-8276-fefcd314dc0a on 12 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Permit records from the City of Seattle permitting system for building permits that create or demolish attached accessory dwelling units (AADU). Records begin in 1990 and are through the current year quarter.

The permits in this layer are those that have either been completed or are currently issued. This data does not contain records for those permits that were issued but were not completed so are therefore not comparable to statistics that report permit issuance.

Each record represents the number of units added or demolished for each housing type in the project. Therefore a single building permit may appear multiple times if there are a mix of unit types in the project.

Housing unit types reflect the unit types regulated by the building codes and change through time. There has been no attempt to standardize these types and therefore reflect the unit types that existed at the time the permit was issued. Unit types will be visible only for the time period they were in the code. For example, small efficiency dwelling units were not created in the code until 2016 and so will not appear as a type until that year.

There may be multiple permits at any given address.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Thumbnail image by Tony Moody.This dataset includes all housing developments approved by the City of Boise’s (“city”) Planning Division since 2020 that are known by the city to have received or are expected to receive support or incentives from a government entity. Each row represents one development. Data may be unavailable for some projects and details are subject to change until construction is complete. Addresses are excluded for projects with fewer than five homes for privacy reasons.

The dataset includes details on the number of “homes” in a development. We use the word "home" to refer to any single unit of housing regardless of size, type, or whether it is rented or owned. For example, a building with 40 apartments counts as 40 homes, and a single detached house counts as one home.

The dataset includes details about the phase of each project. The process for build a new development is as follows: First, one must receive approval from the city’s Planning Division, which is also known as being “entitled.” Next, one must apply for and receive a permit from the city’s Building Division before beginning construction. Finally, once construction is complete and all city inspections have been passed, the building can be occupied.

The dataset also includes data on the affordability level of each development. To receive a government incentive, a developer is typically required to rent or sell a specified number of homes to households that have an income below limits set by the government and their housing cost must not exceed 30% of their income. The federal government determines income limits based on a standard called “area median income.” The city considers housing affordable if is targeted to households earning at or below 80% of the area median income. For a three-person household in Boise, that equates to an annual income of $60,650 and monthly rent or mortgage of $1,516. See Boise Income Guidelines for more details.Project Address(es) – Includes all addresses that are included as part of the development project.Address – The primary address for the development.Parcel Number(s) – The identification code for all parcels of land included in the development.Acreage – The number of acres for the parcel(s) included in the project.Planning Permit Number – The identification code for all permits the development has received from the Planning Division for the City of Boise. The number and types of permits required vary based on the location and type of development.Date Entitled – The date a development was approved by the City’s Planning Division.Building Permit Number – The identification code for all permits the development has received from the city’s Building Division.Date Building Permit Issued – Building permits are required to begin construction on a development.Date Final Certificate of Occupancy Issued – A certificate of occupancy is the final approval by the city for a development, once construction is complete. Not all developments require a certificate of occupancy.Studio – The number of homes in the development that are classified as a studio. A studio is typically defined as a home in which there is no separate bedroom. A single room serves as both a bedroom and a living room.1-Bedroom – The number of homes in a development that have exactly one bedroom.2-Bedroom – The number of homes in a development that have exactly two bedrooms.3-Bedroom – The number of homes in a development that have exactly three bedrooms.4+ Bedroom – The number of homes in a development that have four or more bedrooms.# of Total Project Units – The total number of homes in the development.# of units toward goals – The number of homes in a development that contribute to either the city’s goal to produce housing affordable at or under 60% of area median income, or the city’s goal to create permanent supportive housing for households experiencing homelessness.Rent at or under 60% AMI - The number of homes in a development that are required to be rented at or below 60% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details. Boise defines a home as “affordable” if it is rented or sold at or below 80% of area median income.Rent 61-80% AMI – The number of homes in a development that are required to be rented at between 61% and 80% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details. Boise defines a home as “affordable” if it is rented or sold at or below 80% of area median income.Rent 81-120% AMI - The number of homes in a development that are required to be rented at between 81% and 120% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details.Own at or under 60% AMI - The number of homes in a development that are required to be sold at or below 60% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details. Boise defines a home as “affordable” if it is rented or sold at or below 80% of area median income.Own 61-80% AMI – The number of homes in a development that are required to be sold at between 61% and 80% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details. Boise defines a home as “affordable” if it is rented or sold at or below 80% of area median income.Own 81-120% AMI - The number of homes in a development that are required to be sold at between 81% and 120% of area median income. See the description of the dataset above for an explanation of area median income or see Boise Income Guidelines for more details.Housing Land Trust – “Yes” if a development receives or is expected to receive this incentive. The Housing Land Trust is a model in which the city owns land that it leases to a developer to build affordable housing.City Investment – “Yes” if the city invests funding or contributes land to an affordable development.Zoning Incentive - The city's zoning code provides incentives for developers to create affordable housing. Incentives may include the ability to build an extra floor or be subject to reduced parking requirements. “Yes” if a development receives or is expected to receive one of these incentives.Project Management - The city provides a developer and their design team a single point of contact who works across city departments to simplify the permitting process, and assists the applicants in understanding the city’s requirements to avoid possible delays. “Yes” if a development receives or is expected to receive this incentive.Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) - A federal tax credit available to some new affordable housing developments. The Idaho Housing and Finance Association is a quasi-governmental agency that administers these federal tax credits. “Yes” if a development receives or is expected to receive this incentive.CCDC Investment - The Capital City Development Corp (CCDC) is a public agency that financially supports some affordable housing development in Urban Renewal Districts. “Yes” if a development receives or is expected to receive this incentive. If “Yes” the field identifies the Urban Renewal District associated with the development.City Goal – The city has set goals to produce housing affordable to households at or below 60% of area median income, and to create permanent supportive housing for households experiencing homelessness. This field identifies whether a development contributes to one of those goals.Project Phase - The process for build a new development is as follows: First, one must receive approval from the city’s Planning Division, which is also known as being “entitled.” Next, one must apply for and receive a permit from the city’s Building Division before beginning construction. Finally, once construction is complete and all city inspections have been passed, the building can be occupied.

For a list of all Building Permits that is updated daily, see our Building Permits dataset instead. This dataset is an excerpt from that list, and only includes Building Permits issued Jan.1, 2009 - Dec. 31, 2018. It was used for statistics display purposes on our Open Data Portal to capture a 10 year window from 2009-2018. If you are looking for a smaller dataset of more recent records that is updated daily, please search for "Building Permits Issued in the Last Year" instead.Permits: building, electrical, plumbing, liquor, occupancy, sign, miscellaneous.Building permits may include: alternative solutions, awning, blasting, commercial, complex, demolition, excavation, fire alarm, interior only, noise exemption, residential (multi, single family, and duplex), strip out.If a building permit's status is "completed", then it means it has an occupancy permit, otherwise it would be cancelled or expired indicating that occupancy was not granted. You can filter on the "Status" field to show all records that are "Completed", and thus have an occupancy permit.Electrical permits may include: woodstove, commercial, fire alarm, entertainment, operating, residential, security/access, temporary service.Note: Attributes represent each field in a dataset, and some fields will contain information such as ID numbers. As a result some visualizations on the tabs on our Open Data page will not be relevant.

The consumer price of housing in urban areas of the United States increased by over six percent in 2023. That was the second-largest increase on a year-over-year basis since 2000. Meanwhile, 2009 was the only year in which housing prices decreased. One of the main reasons for that may have been the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007. During that period, the value of new residential construction put in place in the U.S. stagnated.