Over the first seven months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date nationwide reached 599,308, which is a 13.7% increase over the July 2023 level of 527,158, the National Association of Home Builders' Eye On Housing blog reports. In contrast, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide declined during the same period, reaching 279,618, which is 17.2% below the July 2023 level of 337,730.
All four regions saw single-family permit increases year-to-date, ending in July, with the West seeing permits increase by 18.2%, the Midwest by 14.5%, the South by 12.4%, and the Northeast by 9.8%. In contrast, three out of the four regions posted declines for multifamily permits. Only the Northeast posted an increase (up by 32%).
Between July 2024 YTD and July 2023 YTD, 47 states and the District of Columbia posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 39.4% in Arizona to 2.1% in Rhode Island. New Hampshire (-0.2%), Hawaii (-2.7%), and Alaska (-10.4%) reported declines in single-family permits. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 64.0% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 97,551 permits over the first seven months of 2024, which is an increase of 15.6% compared to the same period last year. The succeeding highest state, Florida, was up by 9.5%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted an increase of 11.8%.