Building Permit Pipeline by State
Permits filed today are houses listed in 12 to 18 months. This page ranks every state by trailing-12-month residential permits versus the preceding 12 months — a forward-looking inventory pressure signal. States above the line are pushing future supply into the market; states below are restricting it. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey via FRED.
Biggest pipeline expansion (12mo) Rhode Island +46.8% vs prior 12 months (2,085 permits)
Biggest pipeline contraction (12mo) Arizona -14.8% vs prior 12 months (45,514 permits)
U.S. trailing-12 permits (sum) 1,398,372 across 49 states with data
All states, ranked by 12-month permit growth
Higher = more new construction coming online. Pair with the Inventory Surplus column: a state with high permit growth and rising inventory is the one to watch — that's where price pressure flips from sellers to buyers first.
| # | State | Latest Month | Trailing 12mo | Preceding 12mo | 12mo Growth | Trajectory | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | 220 | 2,085 | 1,420 | +46.8% | Builder push | $536,900 |
| 2 | New York | 4,556 | 47,895 | 35,376 | +35.4% | Builder push | $620,500 |
| 3 | Kansas | 1,209 | 12,026 | 9,653 | +24.6% | Builder push | $316,300 |
| 4 | Montana | 606 | 5,761 | 4,724 | +22.0% | Pipeline pile-up | $528,600 |
| 5 | Oregon | 1,102 | 15,628 | 13,590 | +15.0% | Steady growth | $525,500 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 472 | 5,062 | 4,416 | +14.6% | Steady growth | $537,900 |
| 7 | Washington | 3,694 | 39,766 | 35,087 | +13.3% | Steady growth | $651,800 |
| 8 | California | 8,285 | 110,772 | 98,077 | +12.9% | Steady growth | $887,400 |
| 9 | Mississippi | 657 | 8,670 | 7,696 | +12.7% | Steady growth | $284,300 |
| 10 | Utah | 2,633 | 26,587 | 23,891 | +11.3% | Steady growth | $560,200 |
| 11 | Alabama | 1,560 | 21,040 | 19,016 | +10.6% | Steady growth | $312,600 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 1,454 | 13,482 | 12,511 | +7.8% | Steady growth | $688,100 |
| 13 | Colorado | 2,740 | 34,023 | 31,843 | +6.8% | Steady growth | $617,000 |
| 14 | Maine | 1,023 | 6,817 | 6,397 | +6.6% | Steady growth | $439,200 |
| 15 | Virginia | 3,228 | 35,871 | 33,923 | +5.7% | Steady growth | $499,300 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 2,645 | 22,469 | 21,256 | +5.7% | Steady growth | $372,300 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 2,634 | 25,487 | 24,149 | +5.5% | Steady growth | $361,600 |
| 18 | Vermont | 138 | 2,283 | 2,168 | +5.3% | Steady growth | $448,400 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 1,295 | 14,776 | 14,201 | +4.0% | Flat | $264,600 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 976 | 15,516 | 14,926 | +4.0% | Flat | $275,500 |
| 21 | Louisiana | 970 | 14,378 | 13,947 | +3.1% | Flat | $269,000 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 4,436 | 46,376 | 45,930 | +1.0% | Flat | $394,000 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 2,519 | 25,468 | 25,266 | +0.8% | Flat | $330,200 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 354 | 4,015 | 4,014 | +0.0% | Flat | $265,200 |
| 25 | Michigan | 2,026 | 22,926 | 23,021 | -0.4% | Flat | $297,900 |
| 26 | Delaware | 607 | 6,375 | 6,405 | -0.5% | Flat | $384,500 |
| 27 | Missouri | 1,528 | 18,008 | 18,243 | -1.3% | Flat | $297,500 |
| 28 | Ohio | 3,198 | 32,124 | 32,556 | -1.3% | Flat | $282,600 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 166 | 1,988 | 2,016 | -1.4% | Flat | $464,500 |
| 30 | North Carolina | 7,727 | 86,578 | 88,484 | -2.2% | Flat | $397,600 |
| 31 | Idaho | 1,959 | 17,991 | 18,420 | -2.3% | Flat | $503,400 |
| 32 | Georgia | 5,473 | 60,146 | 61,876 | -2.8% | Flat | $389,000 |
| 33 | South Dakota | 808 | 5,905 | 6,114 | -3.4% | Flat | $346,600 |
| 34 | Connecticut | 409 | 6,478 | 6,729 | -3.7% | Flat | $498,000 |
| 35 | North Dakota | 271 | 2,242 | 2,334 | -3.9% | Flat | $311,200 |
| 36 | Kentucky | 1,101 | 13,657 | 14,572 | -6.3% | Pulling back | $284,400 |
| 37 | Tennessee | 4,028 | 41,652 | 44,684 | -6.8% | Pulling back | $413,200 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 1,544 | 10,400 | 11,213 | -7.3% | Pulling back | $319,100 |
| 39 | New Jersey | 2,211 | 31,859 | 34,761 | -8.3% | Pulling back | $579,900 |
| 40 | Hawaii | 318 | 3,412 | 3,725 | -8.4% | Pulling back | $741,300 |
| 41 | Florida | 16,024 | 157,984 | 173,176 | -8.8% | Pulling back | $421,500 |
| 42 | Alaska | 78 | 847 | 929 | -8.8% | Pulling back | $427,100 |
| 43 | Indiana | 2,354 | 27,651 | 30,349 | -8.9% | Pulling back | $287,300 |
| 44 | New Mexico | 710 | 7,556 | 8,329 | -9.3% | Pulling back | $395,500 |
| 45 | Illinois | 1,454 | 18,681 | 20,750 | -10.0% | Pulling back | $337,900 |
| 46 | Maryland | 1,039 | 13,335 | 15,160 | -12.0% | Pulling back | $477,300 |
| 47 | Texas | 18,391 | 193,634 | 223,573 | -13.4% | Pulling back | $356,100 |
| 48 | Nevada | 1,098 | 15,176 | 17,798 | -14.7% | Pulling back | $481,200 |
| 49 | Arizona | 3,392 | 45,514 | 53,433 | -14.8% | Pulling back | $453,800 |
How to read this
- Permits ≠ starts ≠ completions. Roughly 95% of permitted units start within 18 months and ~80% complete within 24 months. Permit growth is the leading indicator; starts trail by 1–3 quarters; completions trail starts by 6–9 months.
- Multi-family dominates the volatility. A single 200-unit apartment permit can swing a small state's monthly count. The 12-month windowed comparison smooths this out.
- Watch the high-growth + high-inventory combo. States already with rising inventory plus a swelling permit pipeline are the most likely to see price pressure flip buyer-friendly. The trajectory column flags pipeline pile-up explicitly. Permits are the supply still to come; for what is already listed, check months of supply by state.
- "Construction freeze" states warrant the opposite read: tight forward supply will keep prices supported even if demand softens.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (single-family + multi-family combined) via FRED. Updated weekly. Inventory Surplus from Redfin Data Center.