To provide current data on new residential construction and additions, alterations,
and renovations to existing residential buildings. The United States Code, Title
13, authorizes this survey and provides for voluntary responses. All places issuing building permits for private residential structures. Over
98 percent of all privately-owned residential buildings constructed are in permit-issuing
places Data collected on permits issued for private projects include number of buildings,
number of housing units, and permit valuation by size of structure. Data on permits for new construction are available monthly and annually since
1959; reported data are for activities taking place during the applicable reference
period. Prior to 1959, data were collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Use of the current monthly sample began in 2004. A mail-out/mail-back monthly survey of 9,000 selected permit-issuing places;
and an annual mail-out/mail-back census of some 11,000 permit places that are
not requested to report monthly. The monthly sample of permit-issuing places
was selected using a stratified systematic sample procedure. All permit places
located in selected large metropolitan areas were selected with certainty. The
remaining places were stratified by state and number of authorized units during
three previous years. All places that authorized housing units above a cutoff
level were selected. Remaining places were sampled at a rate of 1 in 10. Monthly estimates are made for all permit-issuing places nationwide. If a survey
report is not received, missing data on permits for new construction are imputed
except for places selected for the Survey of Construction (SOC). For these places
SOC permit data are used. Reported data on permits for new construction are
seasonally adjusted by Census region and type of structure. New Residential Construction press releases contain the first available
permit data and are released on or about the 12th workday following the reference
month. The reports contain the first available preliminary monthly estimates
of the number of new housing units authorized. Data are shown by type of structure,
at the national level and by Census region. All data are placed on the Census
website at: www.census.gov/permits.
Revised monthly data are released on or about the 18th workday following the
reference month. At that time, monthly estimates are available at the Census
Division, State, metropolitan area, county, and permit-issuing place levels.
Public use computer data files in are also available at that time. All data
except estimates of alterations, repairs, and renovations are placed on the
web-site shown above. The Conference Board uses the residential data for developing the index of
leading economic indicators. The Federal Reserve Board use the data to analyze
national and regional economic conditions. The Department of Housing and Urban
Development use the data to evaluate housing programs. Financial institutions use these statistics to estimate mortgage demand. Private
businesses use them for market planning, material use, and investment analysis. Provides a designated principal economic indicator and the only source of current
and consistent small area data on newly-authorized construction. Data are from
public records and not subject to confidentiality restrictions. Survey of New Manufactured
(Mobile) Homes
Value of New Construction Put in Place
EXPLORE INFORMATION CONTINUE OVERVIEW Last revised:
December 15, 2008
BUILDING PERMITS SURVEY
PURPOSE
COVERAGE
CONTENT
FREQUENCY
METHODS
PRODUCTS
USERS
SPECIAL FEATURES
RELATED PROGRAMS