Continued Gains for November Single-Family Permits

Over the first eleven months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 888,217. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 12.2% increase over the November 2019 level of 791,452.

Year-to-date ending in November, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 14.4% in the South to an increase of 8.0% in the Northeast. In multifamily permits, all four regions reported declines; West (-10.7%), Northeast (-10.5%), South (-8.6%), and the Midwest (-1.9%).

Between November 2019 YTD and November 2020 YTD, 45 states saw growth in single-family permits issued while five states and the District of Columbia registered a decline. Vermont recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 37.8% from 865 to 1,192 while single-family permits in the District of Columbia declined by 19.6%, from 163 in 2019 to 131 in 2020. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 61.3% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in November 2020, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 429,734. This is 8.6% decline over the November 2019 level of 470,070.

Between November 2019 YTD and November 2020 YTD, 17 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth while 33 states recorded a decline in multifamily permits. South Dakota  led the way with a sharp rise (146.8%) in multifamily permits from 1,113 to 2,747, while New Hampshire reported the largest decline of 52.8% from 1,302 to 615. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.1% 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: