Single-Family Permits Fall, While Multifamily Sector Sees Slight Uptick

Single-family construction activity is continuing on a downward trend, declining for the sixth straight month in June, according to analysis of Census data by the National Association of Home Builders. Over the first six months of 2025, the number of single-family permits issued year-to-date nationwide was 485,935, a 5.6% decline form the 514,728 single-family permits issued year-to-date in June 2024.

Meanwhile, the opposite trend was observed in the multifmaily sector, where the total number of permits issued nationwide reached 244,812 as of June, up 2.9% from the year prior.

Between June 2025 YTD and June 2024 YTD, 15 states posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 19.9% in Hawaii to 0.2% in Kentucky. The remaining 35 states and the District of Columbia reported declines in single-family permits with the District of Columbia reporting the steepest decline of 24.2%.

The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 63.0% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 78,104 permits over the first six months of 2025; this is a decline of 8.0% compared to the same period last year. The second highest state, Florida, decreased by 10.6%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted a decline of 0.9%.