Building Permits on the Rise

Building permits were down 20 percent during the past 12 months for 2 to 4 units, but increased 16.9 percent for 5 units or more.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 586,000. This is 2.1 percent above the revised May rate of 574,000, but is 2.3 percent below the June 2009 estimate of 600,000. Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 421,000; this is 3.4 percent below the revised May figure of 436,000 and 6.7 percent lower than a year ago.

Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 145,000 in June. The Northeast was the region that fared the best, increasing 32.3 percent for permits since June 2009 and increasing 8.9 percent for single units. The South fared the worst, going down 10.4 percent overall and down 10.5 percent for single units.

- Courtesy of Economics and Statistics Administration