Despite the holidays and vacations of December, there wasn’t any time lost for residential construction in the Lone Star State.
Texas residential construction received a great gift over the holiday season. In December, the HBW database had an influx of new residential construction permits in Texas, resulting in more than 5,700 new permits, a month-over-month increase of nearly 70%. From a yearly perspective, the month of December ranked fourth highest in 2016 for total new permits during any given monthly period.
Texas – Residential Construction Permits Jan. thru Dec. 2016
Out of the 5,738 permits and nearly $1.4B in total value in the “Texas Triangle” (Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio), Houston was #1 for total new permits in December as it experienced a month-over-month increase of 65% in housing starts. Out of the 2,453 housing starts and approximately $469M in total construction value in the Houston area, more than half of the housing starts took place in Harris County (1,380 permits) while more than 20% originated from Fort Bend County (512 permits).
While Dallas ranked second highest for total housing starts (1,886 permits), it landed the top of the charts for average value at $305,051, and the area had a leading total value of more than $575M in new residential construction last month. In December, the Dallas area experienced a month-over-month increase of more than 75% in new residential construction, and the county with the highest concentration of housing starts was Collin.
Texas – Total Residential Permits by Area in Dec. 2016
Austin also had a month-over-month spike in new residential construction permits in December; an increase of approximately 67% in comparison to November had Austin ranked third highest with 976 housing starts and nearly $243M in total value. Nearly all of the housing starts took place in the counties of Williamson (455 permits) and Travis (409 permits).
Although San Antonio had the fewest housing starts on file in comparison to the larger metro areas of Texas, it had an increase of 63% in new residential construction permits since November. In San Antonio, 423 new permits with a total value of approximately $95.4M were added to the HBW database last month. More than half of San Antonio’s housing starts took place in Bexar County.
When looking at the average value of new residential construction, Dallas continued to shine. As previously mentioned, Dallas had an average value of $305,051, significantly higher than the other metro areas within the Texas Triangle. Austin was ranked second highest at $248,906, while San Antonio came in third with an average value of $225,535. While Houston led for total housing starts, it had the lowest average value of construction at $191,101 for the month.
Texas – Average Value of Residential Construction in Dec. 2016
Information utilized for the graphs and above listed figures for Texas residential construction was directly derived from HBW 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.