Permits for Single-Family Homes in Texas Once Again Outnumber Multifamily Permits

The longstanding trend in Texas of permitting more single-family homes than multi-family developments looks to be accelerating.

1 minute read

July 20, 2017, 6:00 AM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Texas Suburb

SoleilC / Shutterstock

For a brief moment in 2014, it looked as though permits for multi-family units in Texas might surpass single-family homes. That moment has passed. In the intervening years, permits in the two categories have trended in opposite directions. "The number of new multifamily buildings starting construction has fallen over the past couple of years, as single-family units continued marching upward," Lydia DePillis reports in the Houston Chronicle.

This trend will have consequences for Texas' future as these homes are yet to be built. "The factors that would push the pace of multifamily construction rate faster than single-family construction are varied and complex, ranging from the availability of financing to decisions made by local planners to the demographics and preferences of people moving to a certain place," DePillis writes.

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