Top Multifamily Markets Among Top 10 for Single-Family Permitting

Six of the top 10 markets for multifamily permitting in the year-ending March are also among the top 10 markets for single-family permitting, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. These markets have consistently been among the nation’s leaders for total housing demand.

Not surprisingly, all of the top single-family permitting markets are in the Sun Belt with the usual suspects Houston, Dallas, Austin and Phoenix. Southeast markets Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Orlando and Nashville were joined by North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL to round out the top 10 single-family permitting list in March.

The list of top 10 multifamily permitting markets is more geographically diverse, with New York continuing to lead the nation, followed by the six Sun Belt markets on the single-family list. Along with Washington, DC, the first eight top 10 multifamily permitting markets returned from February’s list. Miami and Columbus, OH replaced Tampa and Los Angeles on the top 10 list for March.

New York and Columbus were the only top multifamily permitting markets to see an increase in both multifamily and single-family permitting compared to one year ago. Seven top multifamily markets had fewer units permitted in the year-ending March from last year, but four of those permitted more single-family homes than last year. Interestingly, three markets – New York, Miami and Columbus – permitted more multifamily units than single-family homes in the past year.

Perhaps as an indication that multifamily permitting is beginning to turn around, only four of the top 10 multifamily markets permitted fewer units for the year than one month ago, compared to the aforementioned seven markets with year-over-year declines. Additionally, the sum of multifamily units permitted for the top 10 in March of 130,310 is slightly higher than the sum for these same 10 markets in February (129,548 units).

Other markets with significant year-over-year increases in multifamily permitting in the year-ending March were Fort Worth (+2,378 units), Omaha (+1,741 units), Milwaukee (+1,675 units), Anaheim (+1,365 units), Des Moines (+1,340 units) and Chicago (+1,332 units).

In addition to Austin, Phoenix and Washington, DC from the top 10 list, markets with significant year-over-year declines in multifamily permitting include Los Angeles (-5,149 units), Denver (-4,373 units), Minneapolis-St. Paul (-4,216 units), Nashville (-2,507 units) and Salt Lake City (-2,233 units). Nineteen other markets had decreases in permitting of 1,000 units or more.

Below the metro level, nine of last month’s top 10 permit-issuing places returned to this month’s list with only three remaining in the same place. The list of top individual permitting places (cities, towns, boroughs and unincorporated counties) generally include the principal city of some of the most active metro areas.

The borough of Brooklyn remained in the top permitting spot in March with the city of Atlanta again at #2, but the Bronx borough slipped to #4 behind Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County. The city of Miami moved up two spots and the city of Fort Worth remained at #6. Reflecting its appearance among the top 10 markets list, the city of Columbus moved up three spots on the top 10 places list, while the cities of Los Angeles and Austin fell back on the list. Austin’s Unincorporated Travis County returned to the list at #10 in March.

This post is part of a series by RealPage Senior Real Estate Economist Chuck Ehmann analyzing residential permits and starts data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For more on this data, read previous posts in the Permits series.