Housing · PERMIT
Building permits
As of Sep 2026, building permits stood at 1,400K (thousands of units, annual rate), a change of -0.2% from the month before.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau via FRED®. Monthly data, seasonally adjusted. Latest observation Sep 2026; snapshot taken Oct 26, 2026, 6:40 PM EDT.
Latest (Sep 2026)
1,400K
Change from Aug 2026
-0.2%
A year earlier
1,444K
12-month change
-3.0%
1,400K Sep 2026 · Thousands of units, annual rate
Thousands of units, annual rate. Data from Jan 1960 to Sep 2026 (801 observations).
What it measures
Building permits count the housing units approved by local governments before construction starts. Because permits come first, they often hint at where housing starts will go next.
- Official title
- New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- Units
- Thousands of units, annual rate
- Frequency and adjustment
- Monthly, seasonally adjusted
- Original source
- U.S. Census Bureau
Advertisement
| Date | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 1,400K | -0.2% |
| Aug 2026 | 1,403K | -2.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 1,433K | +4.3% |
| Jun 2026 | 1,374K | -2.6% |
| May 2026 | 1,410K | -0.9% |
| Apr 2026 | 1,423K | +4.4% |
| Mar 2026 | 1,363K | -11.5% |
| Feb 2026 | 1,540K | +10.6% |
| Jan 2026 | 1,393K | -6.0% |
| Dec 2025 | 1,482K | +4.8% |
| Nov 2025 | 1,414K | -0.3% |
| Oct 2025 | 1,418K | -1.8% |
Related indicators
Advertisement
This page shows public economic data for general information. It is not financial advice and does not predict future values.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units [PERMIT], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PERMIT, Oct 26, 2026.
- View PERMIT on FRED® · U.S. Census Bureau
FRED® is a registered trademark of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Neither the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis nor U.S. Census Bureau endorses OpenEcon.