New Residential Building Permits by Region: November 2002

The total number of residential building permits issued nationwide during the first 11 months of last year was 6.1% greater than during January-November 2001, according to preliminary estimates coming out of the U.S. Commerce Department.

Unit-permit totals for eight of the nine regions of the country were higher during January-November of this past year than over the first 11 months of 2001. The Rocky Mountain states recorded 0.4% fewer permits through November 2002 than during the same period of 2001.

Activity in the nation's largest-volume home building state, Florida, continued at a very healthy pace. And with 11.5% more permits issued through November of last year than over the first 11 months of 2001, Florida also remains one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Permit volume in "runner-up" Texas was growing solidly as well, up 8.8% compared with the 11-month-total of a year earlier. In addition, California, the third-largest market in permit volume throughout 2001, recorded an 8.2% gain in the unit-permit total versus year-ago through November 2002, after permit totals had failed to even match the 2001 building pace during the first half of 2002.

The number of residential units permitted for construction in the first 11 months of this past year was greater than during January-November 2001 in 42 states. Among the eight states recording over-the-year losses, the largest decreases (in percentage terms) were in Colorado (-14.3%), Kansas (-9.5%), North Carolina (-6.1%) and Nevada (-5.6%).