Recent Trends In New Residential Permits for 1999's Top 25 Metro Areas

1999 Rank		# of units Permitted Year-to-date	% Change Compared to Year Ago
1	Atlanta GA	5,019	19.5%
2	Phoenix-Mesa AZ	3,131	-28.2
3	Chicago IL	1,810	5.0
4	Washington DC	2,895	6.4
5	Dallas TX	2,189	-31.4
6	Houston TX	2,068	-27.3
7	Orlando FL	1,584	-54.6
8	Las Vegas NV	2,117	7.5
9	Charlotte NC	1,811	-26.9
10	Tampa-St. Petersburg FL	1,394	-16.6
11	Minneapolis MN	1,037	19.6
12	Denver CO	2,400	39.5
13	Raleigh-Durham NC	782	-30.5
14	Riverside-San Bernardino CA	1,549	34.7
15	Seattle WA	1,558	66.3
16	Detroit MI	1,063	113.9
17	Philadelphia PA	1,277	21.3
18	Austin TX	1,267	-8.6
19	Kansas City MO-KS	1,238	75.9
20	San Diego CA	956	-47.6
21	Columbus OH	796	73.8
22	Indianapolis IN	709	-10.1
23	New York NY	1,084	-13.6
24	Portland, OR	796	-24.0
25	Los Angeles, CA	1,382	50.1
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Professional Builder

Nineteen-ninety-nine’s top two areas in terms of sheer volume of new residential construction -- Atlanta and Phoenix - got off to dramatically different starts during the first month of the new year. However, given the fact that weather and other special factors (including the tardy official recording of issued permits) can distort these numbers for any particular month, it’s much too early to draw conclusions about the relative strength or weakness of the year 2000 residential market in any metropolitan area.

Noteworthy are the great January permit volumes realized by Kansas City, Columbus, Seattle, and Los Angeles - all four areas coming in more than 50% above their January 1999 levels. Impressive gains were also realized in areas as diverse as the Denver, Riverside-San Bernardino, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis areas. Among the major home building markets, areas in Texas and Florida generally were slowest off the mark during the first month of this new year.

Also See:

Housing Starts

Consumer Confidence by Region

New Residential Building Permits by Region

Building Materials Price Inflation

PB Topical Ref