A review of Texas residential construction permitting activity from January through September 2018.
New residential construction is climbing in Texas – Since the start of this year (thru September), there has been a 10% year-over-year increase in housing starts, resulting in nearly 60,000 new residential construction permits being added to the HBW database. All major metro areas (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio) are having a better year than last year when it comes to new home construction. Leading the way for growth is Dallas with a 12% year-over-year increase in new residential construction starts which resulted in more than 20,700 new permits through Q3.
Houston was not far behind in growth; with a 9% year-over-year increase in new home construction, Houston stands out with the highest total number of housing starts for the 9-month period (24,534 permits). The Houston-area county of Montgomery has been showing great potential over the last two years, exhibiting more than a 30% year-over-year increase in residential construction through the third quarter of this year. When looking at higher concentrations of new construction activity, Harris County is a standout; more than half of all new permits originate from Harris, and so far this year the county has experienced more than a 6% year-over-year increase in housing starts, resulting in nearly 12,700 housing starts.
Next in line for both growth and total permits is Austin. With an 8% year-over-year increase in housing starts, there were approximately 8,950 new residential construction permits on file for Austin through Q3-2018. More than half of all new construction took place in Travis County (5,409 permits), while the greatest year-over-year increase in housing starts could be found in Williamson County (+15%).
Finally, we reviewed the permitting activity for San Antonio. While the total number of housing starts is lower in San Antonio than other areas reviewed, San Antonio has experienced a notable increase in residential construction activity. In comparison to last year, the area has experienced a 6% increase in new home construction, resulting in more than 5,700 new permits added to the HBW database. The majority of housing starts took place in Bexar County (3,042 permits) where there was nearly a 25% year-over-year increase in new permitting activity across the county.
When reviewing higher value construction (greater than $500k), Dallas continues to be a leader as there have already been approximately 1,750 higher value housing starts in the area through Q3. At this rate, the Dallas area is tracking to be just ahead of last year’s figures. Houston is ranked second for total higher value permits having more than 820 higher value starts through the third quarter of this year, landing it ahead of last year in this value bracket as well.
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.