Robust Gains for August Single-Family Permits

Over the first eight months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 616,856. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 6.9% increase over the August 2019 level of 576,798.

Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 9.8% in the South to a decline of 1.8% in the Northeast. In multifamily permits, all four regions reported declines; Northeast (-10.8%), Midwest (-6.4%), West (-6.0%), and the South (-4.6%).

Between August 2019 YTD and August 2020 YTD, 34 states saw growth in single-family permits issued while 15 states and the District of Columbia registered a decline. Georgia recorded no change during this time. South Dakota recorded the highest growth rate during this time at 32.9% from 1,838 to 2,442 while single-family permits in the District of Columbia declined by 29.3%, from 123 in 2019 to 87 in 2020. The 10 states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 61.5% of the total single-family permits issued.

Year-to-date, ending in August 2020, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 307,614. This is 6.2% decline over the August 2019 level of 327,880.

Between August 2019 YTD and August 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 (177.4%) in multifamily permits from 212 to 588, while New Hampshire reported the largest decline of 69.9% from 1,111 to 334. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 63.9% of the multifamily permits issued.

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

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

—By DANUSHKA NANAYAKKARA-SKILLINGTON