New Residential Permit Volume Through October 2002

Byline:

Daryl Delano, Cahners Economics

Publication Date:

Sat, 2002-11-30 18:00

Article Image:

Recent Trends in New Residential Permits for Top 25 Metro Areas of 2001 (Preliminary Year-to-Date through October 2002)
2001 Rank	Permitted # of Units Year-to-Date
1. Atlanta, GA	57,148
2. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ	40,236
3. Chicago, IL	35,787
4. Washington, DC	33,250
5. Dallas, TX	27,883
6. Houston, TX	33,163
7. Las Vegas, NV	25,770
8. Denver, CO	17,728
9. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	28,199
10. Orlando, FL	22,185
11. Minneapolis, MN	21,250
12. Charlotte, NC	17,606
13. Tampa, FL	20,625
14. Raleigh-Durham, NC	14,251
15. New York, NY	18,100
16. Los Angeles, CA	14,568
17. Indianapolis, IN	14,335
18. Sacramento, CA	16,625
19. Detroit, MI	15,023
20. Seattle, WA	12,971
21. Columbus, OH	13,909
22. San Diego, CA	11,913
23. Kansas City, MO-KS	11,383
24. Philadelphia, PA	13,234
25. Fort Worth, TX	14,800
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Professional Builder

Permit volume throughout the nation rose by 6.5% during the first 10 months of this year, and 15 of the country's top 25 metropolitan areas in 2001 managed gains through the first 10 months of 2002 compared with January-October 2001. The Atlanta area recorded 42% more permits than any other metro area in the United States, although this sprawling city's total volume through 10 months of this year was running only 1.0% ahead of the January-October 2001 total.

Among 2001's largest home building markets (as measured by the combined volume of single-family and multifamily permitted construction), Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. (+26.8%), Houston (+23.6%), New York (+18.0%), Tampa, Fla. (+17.7%), Fort Worth, Texas (+16.9%), Sacramento, Calif. (+16.2%), Minneapolis (+12.8%) and Orlando, Fla. (10.0%), grew at double-digit rates through the first 10 months of 2002. The major metro areas recording the steepest declines during the first 10 months of this year were Denver (-26.0%), Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (-19.7%), San Diego (-13.7%), Kansas City (-8.6%), Las Vegas (-7.8%), Charlotte, N.C. (-6.5%), and Seattle (-6.5%).

Florida's metro markets, almost without exception, recorded strong gains in residential permit volume during the first 10 months of this year. In addition to the solid increases in Tampa and Orlando among, smaller metro markets with increased momentum in home construction during 2002 include Ocala (+92.8%), Fort Pierce (+50.6%), Melbourne (+39.1%), West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (+26.7%), Pensacola (+24.5%), Fort Lauderdale (+22.2%) and Sarasota-Bradenton (+15.2%).