Home building has staged a slow, modest recovery over the last decade, following the Great Recession, with an accelerated uptick last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased building activity can been seen in both the single-family and multifamily sectors, based on data for permits from the
U.S. Census Bureau.
In 2020, builders applied for 979,360 single-family permits — a 134% increase over 2011 (418,498 permits). For multifamily construction, 491,781 permits were issued in 2020 — a 139% increase over 2011.
The following tables highlight the top markets for this growth in each sector.
| Metropolitan Statistical Area |
Total Single-family Permits (Units #): 2011-2020 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
363,067 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
292,219 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
196,745 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
179,479 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX |
135,181 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
129,832 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
127,967 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL |
118,372 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN |
108,311 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL |
103,117 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
97,224 |
| Raleigh, NC |
90,779 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
88,937 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
86,362 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
84,803 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
82,350 |
| Jacksonville, FL |
81,635 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
80,024 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
75,800 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
73,177 |
| Metropolitan Statistical Area |
Total Multifamily Permits (Units #): 2011-2020 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
377,761 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
217,621 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
185,732 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
162,545 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
139,659 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
117,474 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
115,762 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX |
111,636 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
86,515 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
84,001 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
82,492 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
80,379 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
79,726 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH |
79,408 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL |
72,461 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
68,306 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
66,560 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
64,612 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN |
60,709 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
59,271 |
Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis, provides more in
this Eye on Housing post.
