- New York led the US in multifamily permitting with a 53% YoY increase, totaling 34K units.
- Fort Worth and New York were the only top 10 markets to increase annual permitting.
- Markets like Austin, Phoenix, and Houston saw significant declines in annual permits.
- The national annualized rate for multifamily permits rose 22.1% MoM and 4.8% YoY.
New York City was #1 for multifamily permitting in November, with approximately 34K units permitted over the prior 12 months, a 53% YoY increase, according to RealPage.
Despite the national surge, however, market-level performance varied significantly across regions, as reported by GlobeSt.
Biggest Winners
According to RealPage, the Big Apple saw approximately 34K units permitted over the previous 12 months, up nearly 53% YoY. The surge signals a continued recovery in the city’s multifamily development pipeline.
Fort Worth was the only other market among the top 10 to see growth, permitting nearly 8.5K units, a 73% YoY increase.
Mixed Results
Austin, ranking second with nearly 16K units permitted, saw a 23.6% drop in activity. Phoenix followed with nearly 14K units permitted, down 33%. Atlanta and Dallas closely competed for the fourth spot, permitting nearly 12.6K units each, with Atlanta edging ahead by just 85 units.
Houston maintained the sixth position, permitting 11,520 units, a 35.4% YoY decrease, though monthly permitting rose by 900 units. Washington, DC, and Los Angeles also remained stable, permitting more than 9K units each. Miami rounded out the top 10 with 8.3K units permitted, down 27% YoY.
Fort Worth and Miami’s permitting activity displaced Tampa and Raleigh/Durham from the top 10 for November, indicating a shift in regional permitting dynamics.
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Leaders And Laggards
Several smaller markets also enjoyed significant permitting growth in the year ending November:
- Omaha: 2,027 units
- Asheville, NC: 2,011 units
- Boston: 1,904 units
- Milwaukee: 1,798 units
- Kansas City: 1,702 units
However, many other markets saw major declines, including:
- San Antonio: 4,980 units
- Jacksonville: 4,935 units
- Riverside: 4,823 units
- Minneapolis/St. Paul: 4,768 units
- Nashville: 4,703 units
At the submarket level, Brooklyn led the nation in multifamily permits with almost 8.7K units, while the Bronx rounded out the top five for multifamily permitting activity.
National Outlook
On a national scale, the annualized rate for multifamily permits issued surged 22.1% in November compared to October, reaching 481K units, according to data from the US Census Bureau and HUD. On a YoY basis, permits were up by 4.8%.
The surge in New York and Fort Worth, combined with moderate permitting declines in Sun Belt markets, indicates a shifting landscape where major coastal markets may be regaining momentum while oversupplied regions continue to pull back.
