An HBW review of residential construction permits in the Lone Star State during 2018
Texas Residential Construction Permits – 2018
In 2018, Texas maintained its upward trend in new residential construction, having demonstrated a 10% year-over-year increase in housing starts; this will make it the second year in a row that Texas residential construction has exhibited annual increases in housing starts, making 2018 its best year in six years for total new residential construction permits on file with HBW.
In the combined major metro areas of Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, there were more than 78,000 new permits added to the HBW database last year. Out of the four major metro areas reviewed, Houston ranked #1 for total permits; with a 7% year-over-year increase in housing starts, there were nearly 31,620 housing starts on file for Houston, and more than half of Houston’s new home construction took place in Harris County (16,380 permits).
Next in line was Dallas – With a 16% year-over-year increase in housing starts, there were approximately 27,540 new residential permits on file for the Dallas area. The counties with the greatest amount of new construction exhibited annual increases ranging from 10% to more than 58% and included Tarrant (7,855 permits, +16%), Collin (7,755 permits, +10%), Denton (5,239, +58.3%). Dallas also continued to reign supreme when it comes to higher value construction (>$500k); with nearly a 15% year-over-year increase in higher value permits, there were approximately 2,300 high value housing starts on file for Dallas last year.
Both Austin and San Antonio experienced 7% year-over-year increases in housing starts. Austin closed the year with more than 11,500 new permits on file with HBW, and more than half originated from Travis County (6,920 permits, +5%). In San Antonio, there were approximately 7,340 housing starts last year with the majority of new construction taking place in Bexar County (4,044 permits, +26.5%)
Statewide, there were counties that reflected both growth and held the greatest concentration of new home construction… With a 3.5% year-over-year increase in residential construction, Harris County (Houston) ranked #1 for total housing starts (16,380 permits), while Denton County (Dallas) took top spot for growth with an annual increase of more than 58%. Other counties where new home construction exhibited remarkable annual increases include the San Antonio County of Bexar (+26%) and Montgomery County (+23%) in the Houston area.
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.