The National Association of Home Builders reports that the number of multi-family construction permits grew nationally year over year in April, but the amount of single-family permits declined.
Over the first four months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 261,119. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 6.5% decline over the April 2018 level of 279,302.
Year-to-date ending in April, single-family permits reported growth only in the Northeast region of the country. The South, Midwest, and the West regions declined by 3.8%, 11.3%, and 12.0% respectively, compared to the same time period in 2018. The Midwest region had the highest growth in multifamily (15.4%) while the West recorded a decline in multifamily permits growth (-9.3%) during the last 12 months.