U.S. single-family permits decreased by 5.3% in July

[Andrew_Gibson]

Over the first seven months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 645,877. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 5.3% decline over the July 2021 level of 681,949.

Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The South posted a slight decline 3.0% while the Midwest region reported the steepest decline of 10.9%. The Northeast declined by 9.6% and the Western region reported a 6.8% decline in single-family permits during this time. Multifamily permits posted increases in all four regions. Permits were 29.5% higher in the Midwest, 26.1% higher in the South, 13.5% higher in the West, and 6.4% higher in the Northeast.

Between July 2021 YTD and July 2022 YTD, eight states saw growth in single-family permits issued. New Mexico recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 39.1% going from 3,485 permits to 4,847. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia reported a decline in single-family permits during this time with Pennsylvania posting the steepest decline of 21.3% going from 12,787 permits to 10,066. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 64.0% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in July 2022, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 394,215. This is 20.0% ahead over the July 2021 level of 328,483.

Between July 2021 YTD and July 2022 YTD, 37 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth while 13 states recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Georgia led the way with a sharp rise (178.9%) in multifamily permits from 5,067 to 14,133 while Delaware had the largest decline of 79.8% from 896 to 181. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.6% of the multifamily permits issued.

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

For multifamily permits, below are the top ten local areas that issued the highest number of permits.

[Bill_D (Bill)]

Some nice data here.

[Nadia]

awesome data @Andrew_Gibson thank you!
@Jim_Schumacher @Madison_s_Lumber_Rep you’ve seen this data?

[brooks_DAME]

thanks. interesting to see what’s going on in multi-family

[Andrew_Gibson]

@brooks_DAME Isn’t it interesting to see the contrasting decline vs growth between single-family vs multifamily? What do you think are the major drivers here, interest rates? A renting preference?

[Craig_Parker]

That first one is surprising. We had all sorts of folks moving up from Concord NH, Boston, and NY/NJ. Covid made it so they didn’t have to be in an office any more, so a lot of them turned their camps into dwellings. I wonder if my area is an anomaly. I’d have to pull building permits at surrounding towns to know for sure.