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 +43.8% vs prior 12 months (2,113 permits)
Biggest pipeline contraction (12mo) Connecticut -20.8% vs prior 12 months (5,775 permits)
U.S. trailing-12 permits (sum) 1,416,110 across 50 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 | 171 | 2,113 | 1,469 | +43.8% | Builder push | $536,900 |
| 2 | New York | 3,680 | 48,587 | 34,995 | +38.8% | Builder push | $620,500 |
| 3 | Kansas | 882 | 12,159 | 9,366 | +29.8% | Builder push | $316,300 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 1,207 | 13,778 | 11,861 | +16.2% | Pipeline pile-up | $688,100 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 365 | 4,987 | 4,310 | +15.7% | Pipeline pile-up | $537,900 |
| 6 | Mississippi | 661 | 8,718 | 7,656 | +13.9% | Steady growth | $284,300 |
| 7 | Alabama | 1,731 | 21,308 | 18,720 | +13.8% | Steady growth | $312,600 |
| 8 | California | 9,649 | 111,538 | 98,055 | +13.8% | Steady growth | $887,400 |
| 9 | Virginia | 4,366 | 37,520 | 33,474 | +12.1% | Steady growth | $499,300 |
| 10 | Oregon | 935 | 15,315 | 13,684 | +11.9% | Steady growth | $525,500 |
| 11 | Washington | 2,246 | 38,911 | 34,940 | +11.4% | Steady growth | $651,800 |
| 12 | Maine | 518 | 6,830 | 6,303 | +8.4% | Steady growth | $439,200 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 2,438 | 25,771 | 24,409 | +5.6% | Steady growth | $361,600 |
| 14 | South Dakota | 742 | 5,973 | 5,683 | +5.1% | Steady growth | $346,600 |
| 15 | Montana | 634 | 5,457 | 5,203 | +4.9% | Flat | $528,600 |
| 16 | Missouri | 2,198 | 18,495 | 17,722 | +4.4% | Flat | $297,500 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | 2,210 | 25,848 | 24,962 | +3.5% | Flat | $330,200 |
| 18 | Utah | 1,889 | 25,666 | 24,824 | +3.4% | Flat | $560,200 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 2,130 | 22,158 | 21,550 | +2.8% | Flat | $372,300 |
| 20 | Vermont | 146 | 2,231 | 2,185 | +2.1% | Flat | $448,400 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 8,399 | 87,853 | 86,143 | +2.0% | Flat | $397,600 |
| 22 | Delaware | 582 | 6,477 | 6,353 | +2.0% | Flat | $384,500 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 274 | 3,981 | 3,909 | +1.8% | Flat | $265,200 |
| 24 | Colorado | 1,900 | 33,093 | 32,611 | +1.5% | Flat | $617,000 |
| 25 | Idaho | 1,887 | 18,471 | 18,225 | +1.3% | Flat | $503,400 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 3,724 | 46,439 | 45,824 | +1.3% | Flat | $394,000 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | 1,372 | 14,702 | 14,520 | +1.3% | Flat | $264,600 |
| 28 | Georgia | 5,028 | 60,994 | 60,306 | +1.1% | Flat | $389,000 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 183 | 2,018 | 2,007 | +0.5% | Flat | $464,500 |
| 30 | Ohio | 2,476 | 32,282 | 32,566 | -0.9% | Flat | $282,600 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 1,153 | 14,034 | 14,194 | -1.1% | Flat | $269,000 |
| 32 | Michigan | 1,836 | 22,528 | 23,146 | -2.7% | Flat | $297,900 |
| 33 | Arkansas | 884 | 14,741 | 15,397 | -4.3% | Flat | $275,500 |
| 34 | Tennessee | 3,217 | 41,556 | 43,532 | -4.5% | Flat | $413,200 |
| 35 | New Mexico | 728 | 7,746 | 8,128 | -4.7% | Flat | $395,500 |
| 36 | Nebraska | 693 | 10,519 | 11,038 | -4.7% | Flat | $319,100 |
| 37 | Iowa | 1,142 | 12,933 | 13,635 | -5.1% | Pulling back | $258,700 |
| 38 | Illinois | 2,266 | 19,157 | 20,323 | -5.7% | Pulling back | $337,900 |
| 39 | New Jersey | 2,200 | 31,546 | 33,629 | -6.2% | Pulling back | $579,900 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 1,380 | 13,410 | 14,436 | -7.1% | Pulling back | $284,400 |
| 41 | Indiana | 2,150 | 27,672 | 29,831 | -7.2% | Pulling back | $287,300 |
| 42 | Arizona | 4,266 | 47,257 | 51,037 | -7.4% | Pulling back | $453,800 |
| 43 | Florida | 13,980 | 158,370 | 171,104 | -7.4% | Pulling back | $421,500 |
| 44 | Maryland | 967 | 13,400 | 14,618 | -8.3% | Pulling back | $477,300 |
| 45 | Nevada | 979 | 15,357 | 17,102 | -10.2% | Pulling back | $481,200 |
| 46 | Texas | 14,789 | 194,150 | 217,741 | -10.8% | Pulling back | $356,100 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 253 | 3,333 | 3,801 | -12.3% | Pulling back | $741,300 |
| 48 | Alaska | 57 | 814 | 955 | -14.8% | Pulling back | $427,100 |
| 49 | North Dakota | 248 | 2,139 | 2,514 | -14.9% | Pulling back | $311,200 |
| 50 | Connecticut | 320 | 5,775 | 7,289 | -20.8% | Construction freeze | $498,000 |
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.