Housing Permits by Metro and Building Type
This chart compares year-to-date housing units authorized across the twenty metropolitan areas with the largest totals. Each bar preserves the published building-type mix, while its end label compares the same period one year earlier. Permits are authorizations, not starts or completions.
End labels show the total and change from the same period in August 2025. Permits are authorizations, not starts or completions.
What does it show?
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington led the top metropolitan areas with 43,526 housing units authorized through August 2026. Buildings with five or more units accounted for 42.4% of the top 20 total.
Methodology
Keeps records identified by Census as metropolitan statistical areas (Metro / Micro Code 2), joins the August 2026 and August 2025 year-to-date tables by CBSA code, and preserves the published 1-unit, 2-unit, 3-4-unit, and 5+-unit categories. Permits are authorizations, not starts or completions. Limitations: Local permitting coverage and reporting timeliness can vary. The comparison is year to date through August, not a full-year forecast. Permits authorize construction but do not prove that a unit was started or completed.