An HBW review of new swimming pool construction permit data on file for the first quarter of 2019

Earlier this week, we published a monthly (March 2019) review of swimming pool construction and leading builders in the four major metro areas of Texas (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio).  While last month reflected a marginal month-over-month dip in new pool construction, figures from the first quarter of this year show some significant improvement in comparison to Q1-2018.

From January through March of this year, Texas has experienced a 16 percent year-over-year increase in pool starts, resulting in more than 1,800 new construction permits on file with HBW.  All major metro areas, with the exception of San Antonio, are ahead of last year’s quarterly construction figures with spikes ranging from as moderate as 10 percent (Dallas) to as high as 31 percent (Houston).  More than half of all new construction permits on file for the three-month period originated from Dallas (955 permits), and the metro area with the highest rate of growth in new pool construction so far this year is Houston (31 percent).

Here is a brief overview of the latest construction permit data on file for Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio during the first quarter of this year:

Dallas

As previously mentioned, the majority of all new pool construction in the four areas reviewed took place in Dallas last month.  With 955 new swimming pool permits, the area was 10 percent ahead of construction activity from last year.  Dallas-area counties that held the greatest volume of pool starts included: Dallas (225 permits, +13 percent), Collin County (224 permits, +17 percent); Tarrant County (223 permits, -17 percent).

Houston

The Houston area ranked second-highest for total swimming pool starts in Q1-2019.  With approximately 475 new permits on file with HBW, the area has already experienced a 31 percent year-over-year increase in new pool construction.  More than half of all new construction took place in Harris County (287 permits) where there has been a 20 percent year-over-year spike in new permits so far this year.

Austin

While the Austin area is not a leader for volume of new pool construction at this point (235 permits), it is certainly an area to watch for growth.  Since 2016, Austin has demonstrated annual and incremental growth in pool starts, and in the first quarter of this year the growth pattern has continued with a 28 percent year-over-year increase.  Nearly all new pool construction in the area originated from Travis County where there were 184 new permits on file for the three-month period, reflecting a 37% year-over-year increase in new pool construction.

San Antonio

San Antonio was the only major metro area in Texas during the first quarter of this year to remain somewhat steady with last year’s figures.  With a one percent year-over-year dip in new pool construction, there were just over 140 new swimming pool construction permits in the area (Q1-2019), and nearly all new construction took place in Bexar County (120 permits, +9 percent).

To gain more information on the builders, homeowners and permits for the construction activity above, check out HBW for your copy of the latest construction data reports. To gain access to the HBW database and receive custom and detailed reports on the latest residential and commercial building activity in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma, please contact HBW for details.