Multifamily Permitting Falls, RealPage Analytics Notes

(Image courtesy of RealPage)

RealPage Analytics, Richardson, Texas, reported the seasonally adjusted annual rate for multifamily permitting fell 32.2% year-over-year in July, per an analysis of Census Bureau data.

July’s annual rate was almost unchanged from June’s, and is the lowest since October 2020. The multifamily starts rate was fairly flat both from June and year-over-year.

Multifamily completions were down both monthly, at 38.8% fewer in July, and annually, at 23.3% fewer. The number of multifamily units authorized but not started decreased only 0.7% for the month to 133,000 units, but down 10.7% from one year ago.

On a metro-level look, New York continued to lead the nation in multifamily permitting, with 24,818 units in the 12 months ending in July, down by more than 16,000 units from last year.

However, New York is barely beating the No. 2 metro area in multifamily permitting–Houston, with 23,325 units. That’s actually up year-over-year (by 914 units) although down slightly from June’s 12-month total.

Rounding out the top 10 are the metro areas of Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and San Antonio.

Some markets outside of the top 10 that saw significant year-over-year jumps in annual multifamily permitting over the trailing 12 months were Tampa, Fla., Riverside, Calif., Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla., and Anaheim, Calif.