Multifamily Permits Increase in February
Multifamily permits were robust across the country in February compared to last year, from a large gain in the West (22%) to a modest 5.4% increase in the Midwest.
Between February 2020 YTD and February 2021 YTD, 36 states and the District of Columbia recorded growth in multifamily permits, while 14 states recorded a decline.
New Mexico saw a sharp rise (714.3%) in multifamily permits from 42 to 342, while Nebraska dropped 66.9% from 516 to 171. The 10 states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 66.4% of the multifamily permits issued.
Here are top 10 metro areas that issued the highest number of multifamily permits:
| Metropolitan Statistical Area | Multifamily Permits: February (Units # YTD, NSA) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 7,122 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 5,307 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3,884 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC- VA-MD-WV | 3,494 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 3,432 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 3,431 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 3,206 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 2,708 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 2,698 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 1,812 |
NAHB economist Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington provides more detail in this Eye on Housing post.