Building permits in the United States fell 20.8 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.074 million in April 2020, the lowest level since January 2015 and compared with market expectations of 1 million. Single-family authorizations were down 24.3 percent to a five-year low of 669 thousand, while permits for the volatile multi-segment dropped 14.2 percent to a rate of 405 thousand, the lowest since March 2016. Across regions, permits were down in the South (-14.7 percent to 617 thousand), West (-28 percent to 250 thousand), Midwest (-16.1 percent to 146 thousand) and Northeast (-45.5 percent to 61 thousand).

Building Permits in the United States averaged 1356.37 Thousand from 1960 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 2419 Thousand in December of 1972 and a record low of 513 Thousand in March of 2009. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Building Permits - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Building Permits - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2020. source: U.S. Census Bureau

Building Permits in the United States is expected to be 1100.00 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 2021, according to our econometric models.

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United States Building Permits

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
1074.00 1356.00 2419.00 513.00 1960 - 2020 Thousand Monthly
Volume, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-04-16 12:30 PM Building Permits Mar 1.353M 1.452M 1.3M 1.294M
2020-04-16 12:30 PM Building Permits MoM Mar -6.8% -6.3% -10.9%
2020-05-19 12:30 PM Building Permits MoM Apr -20.8% -5.7% -28.9%
2020-05-19 12:30 PM Building Permits Apr 1.074M 1.356M 1M 0.96M
2020-06-17 12:30 PM Building Permits May 1.074M 0.75M
2020-07-17 12:30 PM Building Permits Jun 1.1M
2020-08-18 12:30 PM Building Permits Jul
2020-09-17 12:30 PM Building Permits Aug
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Building Permits Plunge to 5-Year Low
Building permits in the United States fell 20.8 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.074 million in April 2020, the lowest level since January 2015 and compared with market expectations of 1 million. Single-family authorizations were down 24.3 percent to a five-year low of 669 thousand, while permits for the volatile multi-segment dropped 14.2 percent to a rate of 405 thousand, the lowest since March 2016. Across regions, permits were down in the South (-14.7 percent to 617 thousand), West (-28 percent to 250 thousand), Midwest (-16.1 percent to 146 thousand) and Northeast (-45.5 percent to 61 thousand).
2020-05-19
US Building Permits Beat Forecasts
Building permits in the United States fell 6.8 percent from a month earlier at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,353 thousand in March of 2020, slightly above market expectations of 1,300 thousand. Still, it is the sharpest drop in building permits since July 2015 as the coronavirus crisis hurt the construction sector. Authorizations for the volatile multi-family housing segment slid 12 percent to 884 thousand. Across regions, permits declined in the Northeast (-7.6 percent to 122 thousand); the Midwest (-12.7 percent to 178 thousand); the South (-3.1 percent to 712 thousand) and in the West (-10.5 percent to 341 thousand).
2020-04-16
US Building Permits Fall More than Expected
Building permits in the United States slumped 5.5 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.464 million in February 2020, from a 13-year high of 1.550 thousand in January and below market expectations of 1.500. Authorizations for the volatile multi-family housing segment tumbled 18.3 percent to 0.460 million, while single-family permits rose 1.7 percent to 1.004 million. Permits declined across all regions: the South (-1.6 percent to 0.741 million); the West (-2.5 percent to 0.384 million); the Midwest (-8.2 percent to 0.202 million); and the Northeast (-25.1 percent to 0.137 million).
2020-03-18
US Building Permits Surge to Near 13-Year High
Building permits in the United States jumped 9.2 percent from a month earlier at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,551 thousand in January 2020, well above market expectations of 1,450 thousand. It is the strongest gain in building permits since September 2012 and the highest level since March 2007. Authorisations for the volatile multi-family housing segment surged 14.6 percent to 564 thousand and single-family permits rose 6.4 percent to 987 thousand. Across regions, permits climbed in the Northeast (34.6 percent to 183 thousand); the Midwest (8.2 percent to 225 thousand); the South (8 percent to 745 thousand) and in the West (3.1 percent to 398 thousand). Meanwhile, housing starts fell 3.6 percent from a month earlier to an annualized 1,567 thousand units but beat market forecasts of 1,425 thousand.
2020-02-19

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.