Single-Family Permits Continue to Drop in September
Originally Published by: NAHB — November 15, 2023
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Over the first nine months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 693,908. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 13.3% below the September 2022 level of 800,424.
Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The range of permit decline spanned 10.8% in the Northeast to 19.3% in the West. The South declined by 11.3% and the Midwest declined by 13.3% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, the percentage decline spanned 11.4% in the South region to 29.9% in the Northeast. The West declined by 15.3% and the Midwest declined by 20.1% in multifamily permits during this time.
Between September 2022 YTD and September 2023 YTD, except for Hawaii (+16.9%) and Maryland (+6.4%), all the other states and the District of Columbia reported declines in single-family permits. The range of declines spanned 4.1% in New Hampshire to 49.2% in Alaska. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 63.9% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits issued, declined 14.3% in the past 12 months while the next two highest states, Florida and North Carolina declined by 12.0% and 5.5% respectively.
Year-to-date, ending in September, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 433,862. This is 16.1% below the September 2022 level of 516,955.
Between September 2022 YTD and September 2023 YTD, 15 states recorded growth, while 35 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline in multifamily permits. Delaware (+141.3%) led the way with a sharp rise in multifamily permits from 240 to 579 while Wyoming had the largest decline of 74.9% from 566 to 142. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 64.0% of the multifamily permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, declined 20.6% in the past 12 months while the next two highest states, Florida declined by 6.1% and California increased by 0.2%.
At the local level, below are the top ten metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.
| Top 10 Largest SF Markets | Sep-23 (# of units YTD, NSA) | YTD % Change (compared to Sep-22) |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 39,007 | -1% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 31,938 | -12% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 18,734 | -14% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 18,145 | -22% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 14,686 | -5% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 13,321 | 2% |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 13,001 | -29% |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 11,033 | -14% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 10,904 | -14% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 9,707 | -15% |
For multifamily permits, below are the top ten local areas that issued the highest number of permits.
| Top 10 Largest MF Markets | Sep-23 (# of units YTD, NSA) | YTD % Change (compared to Sep-22) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 22,707 | -42% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 18,725 | -22% |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 16,008 | -14% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 15,277 | -27% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 15,192 | 10% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 15,179 | -5% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 14,025 | 33% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 12,229 | -18% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 9,422 | -39% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 8,557 | -44% |