Atlanta and Phoenix Stay Atop New Residential Markets

Recent Trends In New Residential Permits for 1999’s Top 25 Metro Areas (Preliminary Full-Year Data for 1999)
1999 Rank	No. of Units Permitted Year-to-Date	% Change Compared to Year Ago
Atlanta GA	60,477	5.2%
Phoenix-Mesa AZ	47,994	0.2
Chicago IL	38,616	14.6
Washington DC	37,866	0.2
Dallas TX	35,950	-9.1
Houston TX	32,573	-23.9
Orlando FL	29,502	14.6
Las Vegas NV	28,800	-10.5
Charlotte NC	24,001	19.6
Tampa-St. Petersburg FL	23,218	22.9
Minneapolis MN	23,010	11.5
Denver CO	22,957	4.1
Raleigh-Durham NC	21,554	14.8
Riverside-San Bernardino CA	20,129	12.3
Seattle WA	19,694	-10.3
Detroit MI	19,370	-7.4
Philadelphia PA	16,799	2.4
Austin TX	16,677	24.3
Kansas City MO-KS	16,445	18.5
San Diego CA	16,234	36.5
Columbus OH	16,047	45.0
Indianapolis IN	15,919	-1.2
New York NY	15,341	13.1
Portland, OR	15,013	-16.5
Los Angeles, CA	13,896	23.9
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Professional Builder

Nineteen-ninety-nine’s top two areas in terms of sheer volume of new residential construction were Atlanta and Phoenix - the same as during 1998. However, 1998’s solid number three metro area, Houston, ended up as only the sixth-largest market for new home construction during 1999, as the total number of permits issued during the year fell almost 24%.

Chicago emerged as the third-largest area for new home construction last year, by virtue of a better-than-14% increase in permit volume from the 1998 total. Chicago had been the sixth-largest metro market for new home construction during 1998. Washington and Dallas rounded out the Top 5 for residential activity last year, although neither achieved any forward momentum during the year. Permit volume was flat (but at a very healthy level) between 1998 and 1999 in the Washington, D.C. area, but fell by more than 9% in the formerly hot Dallas market.

Jumping into the Top 10 last year was the Charlotte metropolitan area, on the strength of a nearly 20% increase in residential permit activity. The Tampa-St. Petersburg area also cracked the Top 10 barrier for the first time ever, as permit volume rose almost 23% between 1998 and 1999.

On the strength of solid double-digit gains in residential permit volume, cities that burst into 1999’s Top 25 included San Diego, Columbus, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and New York City. Among the areas falling just short of the Top 25 - but in most cases with solid growth in permit totals - were San Antonio, Nashville, Sacramento, and St. Louis.