Top of the market doesn’t necessarily mean growing in permits. For multifamily, only New York (13.1%), Orlando (42.2%), and Columbus (34.6%) showed year-over-year increases in the 12 months ending March 2025. Other top markets were all negative, including Dallas at -2.9%; Austin, -33.9%; Houston, -11.3%; Atlanta, -9.3%; Phoenix, -33.7%; Washington, D.C., -28.6%; and Miami, -8.4%.

For single-family permits, the following markets showed year-over-year growth: New York, 18.7%; Dallas, 3.4%; Columbus, 9.0%; Phoenix, 1.3%; Washington, D.C., 7.8%; Miami, 28.2%. Negative ones included Austin, -8.0%; Houston, -1.7%; Atlanta, -3.2%; Orlando, -1.0%; Washington, D.C., 7.8%.

Only New York and Columbus showed positive growth in both multifamily and single-family compared to the previous year.

Some of this reduction is perhaps unsurprising given the recognition of high construction rates, driven by shifting populations and changing work habits during and after the pandemic. Multiple economists, analysts, and CRE experts had expected the pace of construction to slow, which means fewer permits. Part of it may be changing emphases on areas of construction. Seven of the top multifamily markets had fewer permitted units in the 12-month period ending March, and yet four of that group had more permits for single-family homes year-over-year. New York, Miami, and Columbus permitted more multifamily units than single-family.

However, trends may shift back to multifamily. Ehmann noted that six of the top multifamily markets permitted more units in March than in February. The sum of multifamily permits for the top 10 in March was 130,310, slightly higher than the 129,548 in February.

“Other markets with significant year-over-year increases in multifamily permitting in the year-ending March were Fort Worth (+2,378 units), Omaha (+1,741 units), Milwaukee (+1,675 units), Anaheim (+1,365 units), Des Moines (+1,340 units) and Chicago (+1,332 units),” Ehmann wrote.