Solid Gains for October Single-Family Permits

Over the first ten months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 808,301. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 11.1% increase over the October 2019 level of 727,301.

Year-to-date ending in October, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 13.3% in the South to an increase of 7.0% in the Northeast. In multifamily permits, all four regions reported declines; Northeast (-11.6%), West (-11.2%), South (-9.3%), and the Midwest (-2.0%).

Between October 2019 YTD and October 2020 YTD, 43 states saw growth in single-family permits issued while seven states and the District of Columbia registered a decline. Vermont recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 32.9% from 831 to 1,104 while single-family permits in the District of Columbia declined by 17.3%, from 139 in 2019 to 115 in 2020. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 61.2% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in October 2020, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 385,107. This is 9.2% decline over the October 2019 level of 424,045.

Between October 2019 YTD and October 2020 YTD, 18 states recorded growth while 32 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Mississippi led the way with a sharp rise (118.7%) in multifamily permits from 294 to 643, while New Hampshire reported the largest decline of 64.0% from 1,219 to 439. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.5% of the multifamily permits issued.

At the local level, below are top 10 metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.

For multifamily permits, below are the top 10 local areas that issued the highest number of permits: