Building permits in the United States fell 3.9 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,416 thousand in December 2019, missing market expectations of 1,468 thousand. Authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment declined 9.6 percent to 500 thousand and single-family permits dropped 0.5 percent to 916 thousand. Across regions, permits went down in the Northeast (-15.7 percent to 134 thousand) and the South (-6.5 percent to 688 thousand), but rose in the Midwest (0.5 percent to 207 thousand); and the West (3.8 percent to 387 thousand). Permits for November were revised to 1,474 thousand from 1,482 thousand. Building Permits in the United States averaged 1355.77 Thousand from 1960 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 2419 Thousand in December of 1972 and a record low of 513 Thousand in March of 2009. source: U.S. Census Bureau

Building Permits in the United States is expected to be 1150.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Building Permits in the United States to stand at 1115.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Building Permits is projected to trend around 1200.00 Thousand in 2020, according to our econometric models.

Ok
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

API Features Documentation Interested? Click here to contact us
Please Paste this Code in your Website
width
height
 Preview
United States Building Permits

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
1416.00 1474.00 2419.00 513.00 1960 - 2019 Thousand Monthly
Volume, SA



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2019-12-17 01:30 PM Building Permits MoM Nov 1.4% 5% -3.2%
2019-12-17 01:30 PM Building Permits Nov 1.482M 1.461M 1.41M 1.414M
2020-01-17 01:30 PM Building Permits MoM Dec -3.9% 0.9% -1.9% -1.6%
2020-01-17 01:30 PM Building Permits Dec 1.416M 1.474M 1.468M 1.450M
2020-02-19 01:30 PM Building Permits Jan 1.416M 1.451M
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
2019-12-17
US Building Permits Rise to 12-1/2-Year High
Building permits in the United States increased 1.4 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,482 thousand in November 2019, beating market expectations of 1,410 thousand. Permits were at the highest level since May 2007, as authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment rose 2.5 percent to 564 thousand and single-family permits advanced 0.8 percent to 918 thousand, the highest since July 2007. Across regions, permits went up in the Northeast (18.1 percent to 163 thousand); Midwest (15.1 percent to 206 thousand); and the West (1.3 percent to 376 thousand), but fell in the South (-4.7 percent to 737 thousand). The housing market has been boosted by a fall in mortgage rates after the Fed cut key rates 3 times this year.

2019-11-19
US Building Permits Rise to Over 12-Year High
Building permits in the United States rose 5 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,461 thousand in October 2019, beating market expectations of 1,383 thousand. Permits were at the highest level since May 2007, as authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment advanced 8.2 percent to 552 thousand and single-family permits increased 3.2 percent to 909 thousand, its highest since August 2007. Across regions, permits went up in the Northeast (19.5 percent to 141 thousand); Midwest (1.7 percent to 176 thousand); South (5.6 percent to 776 thousand); and the West (0.8 percent to 368 thousand). Permits for September were revised to 1,391 thousand from 1,387 thousand.

2019-10-17
US Building Permits Fall Less than Expected
Building permits in the United States decreased 2.7 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,387 thousand in September 2019, while markets had expected a 26 percent tumble to 1,350 thousand. Authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment fell 8.2 percent to 505 thousand while single-family permits advanced 0.8 percent to 882 thousand, its highest level since February last year. Across regions, permits were down in the Northeast (-25.7 percent to 113 thousand); the Midwest (-5.9 percent to 176 thousand) and the South (-2.9 percent to 732 thousand), but increased in the West (10.2 percent to 366 thousand). Permits for August were revised to 1,425 thousand, the highest level since May 2007, from 1,419 thousand.

2019-09-18
US Building Permits Rise to Over 12-Year High in August
Building permits in the United States rose 7.7 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,419 thousand in August 2019, beating market expectations of 1,300 thousand. Permits were at the highest level since May 2007, as authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment increased 13.3 percent to 553 thousand and single-family permits advanced 4.5 percent to 866 thousand. Across regions, permits went up in the Northeast (26.9 percent to 151 thousand); the Midwest (14.5 percent to 189 thousand) and the South (11 percent to 748 thousand), but declined in the West (-7.8 percent to 331 thousand). Permits for July were revised to 1,317 thousand from 1,336 thousand.

2019-08-16
US Building Permits Rise the Most since 2017
Building permits in the United States surged 8.4 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,336 thousand in July 2019, while markets were expecting a smaller rise of 3.1 percent. It is the strongest gain in building permits since June 2017, as authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment jumped 21.8 percent to 498 thousand and single-family permits rose 1.8 percent to 838 thousand. Across regions, permits went up in the West (13.7 percent to 365 thousand); the South (10.7 percent to 685 thousand), but declined in the Midwest (-1.2 percent to 169 thousand) and the Northeast (-3.3 percent to 117 thousand). Permits for June were revised to 1,232 thousand from 1,220 thousand.

2019-07-17
US Building Permits Fall to Over 2-Year Low
Building permits in the United States fell 6.1 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,220 thousand in June 2019, while markets were expecting a 0.1 percent gain. Permits were at the lowest level since May 2017, as autorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment declined 16.8 percent to 407 thousand while single-family permits rose 0.4 percent to 813 thousand. Across regions, permits dropped in the South (-10.4 percent to 618 thousand); West (-7.9 percent to 313 thousand) and Midwest (-0.6 percent to 172 thousand) while increased at the Northeast (21.9 percent to 117 thousand). Permits for May were revised to 1,299 thousand from 1,294 thousand.


United States Building Permits
Building Permits refer to the approvals given by a local jurisdictions before the construction of a new or existing building can legally occur. Not all areas of the United States require a permit for construction.

United States Housing Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Building Permits 1416.00 1474.00 2419.00 513.00 Thousand [+]
Housing Starts 1608.00 1375.00 2494.00 478.00 Thousand units [+]
New Home Sales 719.00 710.00 1389.00 270.00 Thousand units [+]
Pending Home Sales 7.40 4.90 30.90 -24.30 percent [+]
Existing Home Sales 5350.00 5440.00 7250.00 1370.00 Thousand [+]
Construction Spending 0.60 0.10 5.90 -4.80 percent [+]
Nahb Housing Market Index 75.00 76.00 78.00 8.00 [+]
Housing Index 0.20 0.70 1.20 -1.80 percent [+]
Mortgage Rate 3.87 3.91 10.56 3.47 percent [+]
Mortgage Applications 30.20 13.50 49.10 -38.80 percent [+]
Case Shiller Home Price Index 218.43 218.24 218.43 100.00 points [+]
Home Ownership Rate 64.80 64.10 69.20 62.90 percent [+]