Multifamily permitting slowed in six of the top 10 metro areas for the year ended in January, all of which recorded double-digit declines. Phoenix, Austin and Los Angeles experienced the steepest permitting declines, ranging from 33% to 42%, while Washington, Houston and Dallas fell less sharply by 13% to 16%, according to a RealPage analysis.
Meanwhile, the New York-White Plains metro division increased permitting by almost 60% for the year to 36,630 units to lead the nation again. Atlanta also reported a significant increase in permitting from last year, with Orlando and Seattle having slightly increased permitting.
The next closest markets to New York were Dallas, with 14,277 units permitted, Austin with 14,204 units and Atlanta with 14,201 units. Houston and Phoenix permitted close to 12,000 units for the year, while the remaining top 10 markets were in the 8,700 to 10,000 range.
The top markets for permitting remained consistent from December to January, with Orlando displacing Fort Worth on the top 10 list while the other nine markets remained the same.
Other markets that had significant year-over-year permitting increases in January were Fort Worth with 2,897 units, Chicago with 2,243 units, Milwaukee with 1,379 units, Atlanta with 1,332 units and Newark, New Jersey with 1,127 units. On the other end, markets with significant declines outside the top 10 include Jacksonville at -5,300 units, Minneapolis/St. Paul at -5,177 units, Riverside at -4,269 units, Raleigh/Durham at -4,244 units, Denver at -4,176 units and Nashville at -4,174 units.
Overall multifamily permitting in RealPage’s top 150 markets continued to shrink in January and has now remained below 400,000 units for six months after peaking at more than 577,000 units in late 2022.
Outside of the metro level, the top 10 permit-issuing locations also remained stable, with nine returning to the list and three staying in the same place. The New York boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx were the top two permitting locations, followed by the cities of Atlanta, Austin and Los Angeles, according to RealPage.