Chart: Jan Single-Family Permits Up 19% Year-Over-Year
Originally published by: NAHB — March 15, 2021
The following article was produced and published by the source linked to above, who is solely responsible for its content. SBC Magazine is publishing this story to raise awareness of information publicly available online and does not verify the accuracy of the author’s claims. As a consequence, SBC cannot vouch for the validity of any facts, claims or opinions made in the article.
Over the first month of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 83,921. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 19.2% increase over the January 2020 level of 70,386.
Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits reported increases in all four regions. The relatively more affordable Midwest reported the strongest increase of 21.5%, followed by the Northeast (+20.7%), the South (+20.3%), and the West (15.1%). Except for the Western region (+18.6%), multifamily permits were sluggish across the rest of the country compared to January 2020; the Midwest saw a decline of 18.5% while the Northeast (+3.3%) and the South (+6.2%) reported modest increases.
Between January 2020 YTD and January 2021 YTD, 46 states and the District of Columbia saw growth in single-family permits issued, while four states registered a decline. South Dakota recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 104.0% from 99 to 202, while single-family permits in Montana declined by 15.8%, from 171 in 2020 to 144 in 2021. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 64.1% of the total single-family permits issued.
Year-to-date, ending in January 2021, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 44,916. This is 5.8% ahead over the January 2020 level of 42,463.
Between January 2020 YTD and January 2021 YTD, 29 states recorded growth while 21 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Hawaii led the way with a sharp rise (1,537.5%) in multifamily permits from 8 to 139, while Ohio had the largest decline of 82.7% from 1,559 to 270. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 72.1% of the multifamily permits issued.
At the local level, below are top 10 metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.
| Metropolitan Statistical Area | Single-family Permits: Jan (Units #YTD, NSA) |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 4,330 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 4,258 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 2,656 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 2,622 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 1,954 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 1,940 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 1,506 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,335 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 1,275 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 1,208 |
For multifamily permits, below are the top 10 local areas that issued the highest number of permits:
| Metropolitan Statistical Area | Multifamily Permits: Jan (Units #YTD, NSA) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 4,470 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,729 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 2,662 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 2,444 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 1,748 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 1,591 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 1,414 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 1,357 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 1,270 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,148 |