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Building permits · Jul 2026

Housing markets with the steepest permit declines

Metro areas ranked by the steepest year-over-year fall in residential units authorized, comparing Aug 2025–Jul 2026 vs. Aug 2024–Jul 2025 — the same calendar months in both years, so seasonal swings cancel. Clovis NM leads, down 86.7%.

A permit is an authorization, not a housing start — some authorized units are never built. Only metro areas with 500+ units in the prior-year window are ranked, and one large prior-year approval that was not repeated can sink a mid-size metro.

One time window, top 100 of 296 metro areas

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10. Fayetteville NC — −39.5% change9. Lebanon PA — −41.9% change8. Midland TX — −45.1% change7. Bloomington IN — −45.8% change6. Flagstaff AZ — −46.0% change5. Elizabethtown KY — −48.0% change4. Lafayette-West Lafayette IN — −49.7% change3. Barnstable Town MA — −51.1% change2. Lake Havasu City-Kingman AZ — −61.3% change1. Clovis NM — −86.7% change
  1. 1.Clovis NM−86.7%
  2. 2.Lake Havasu City-Kingman AZ−61.3%
  3. 3.Barnstable Town MA−51.1%
  4. 4.Lafayette-West Lafayette IN−49.7%
  5. 5.Elizabethtown KY−48.0%
  6. 6.Flagstaff AZ−46.0%
  7. 7.Bloomington IN−45.8%
  8. 8.Midland TX−45.1%
  9. 9.Lebanon PA−41.9%
  10. 10.Fayetteville NC−39.5%
Housing markets with the steepest permit declines, 12 months to Jul 2026. Circle area is proportional to change. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Metro Areas With the Steepest Permit Declines
#Metro areaChangeCurrent windowYear earlierUnit change
1Clovis NM−86.7%68512−444
2Lake Havasu City-Kingman AZ−61.3%9612,486−1,525
3Barnstable Town MA−51.1%5051,032−527
4Lafayette-West Lafayette IN−49.7%1,8663,713−1,847
5Elizabethtown KY−48.0%5301,020−490
6Flagstaff AZ−46.0%419776−357
7Bloomington IN−45.8%6721,240−568
8Midland TX−45.1%8661,578−712
9Lebanon PA−41.9%302520−218
10Fayetteville NC−39.5%1,3272,195−868
11Vallejo CA−39.1%7241,189−465
12Trenton-Princeton NJ−37.7%9751,565−590
13Lancaster PA−37.4%1,1031,763−660
14Johnson City TN−35.9%8551,333−478
15Kahului-Wailuku HI−35.7%620964−344
16Sherman-Denison TX−34.8%1,4852,279−794
17Akron OH−34.4%6911,053−362
18Prescott Valley-Prescott AZ−33.2%1,3121,965−653
19Monticello NY−31.1%423614−191
20Wilson NC−30.8%351507−156
21Boone NC−30.7%354511−157
22Idaho Falls ID−30.3%1,5952,288−693
23Rapid City SD−29.8%1,0071,434−427
24Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL−29.6%11,05515,704−4,649
25Athens-Clarke County GA−29.1%1,1061,561−455
26York-Hanover PA−28.5%1,2321,723−491
27Morehead City NC−26.9%400547−147
28Lakeland-Winter Haven FL−26.8%6,8629,370−2,508
29Eau Claire WI−26.4%9031,227−324
30Port St. Lucie FL−26.2%4,1545,627−1,473
31Lake Charles LA−25.7%672904−232
32Sebring- FL−25.6%655880−225
33Manchester-Nashua NH−25.4%699937−238
34Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX−25.3%23,05630,874−7,818
35Whitewater-Elkhorn WI−25.2%480642−162
36Heber UT−25.0%1,4291,906−477
37Stockton-Lodi CA−24.6%2,4243,214−790
38San Antonio-New Braunfels TX−24.1%9,98113,146−3,165
39Lebanon-Claremont NH-VT−24.0%696916−220
40Moses Lake WA−23.0%401521−120
41Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL−22.1%21,16627,176−6,010
42Elkhart-Goshen IN−21.6%447570−123
43Show Low AZ−21.3%398506−108
44Laredo TX−21.2%1,1391,446−307
45Reno NV−20.7%3,1804,011−831
46Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal SC−20.4%2,6083,277−669
47Cleveland TN−20.1%8651,082−217
48Waterbury-Shelton CT−19.4%491609−118
49Columbia MO−19.3%1,0261,272−246
50Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC-SC−19.3%19,48524,150−4,665
51St. Cloud MN−19.3%650805−155
52San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA−19.2%10,41412,895−2,481
53Augusta-Richmond County GA-SC−19.1%3,5454,383−838
54Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD−19.0%5,5516,857−1,306
55Killeen-Temple TX−18.7%3,1043,820−716
56Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux LA−18.6%524644−120
57Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN−18.6%14,80118,187−3,386
58Seaford DE−18.4%3,5744,381−807
59Burlington NC−18.0%1,9202,341−421
60Cedar Rapids IA−18.0%9361,141−205
61Columbus OH−16.8%13,14515,807−2,662
62Fargo ND-MN−16.6%1,2941,552−258
63Bellingham WA−16.5%1,0901,306−216
64Mobile AL−16.2%1,1851,414−229
65Waco TX−16.2%1,3781,644−266
66Des Moines-West Des Moines IA−16.0%5,0586,025−967
67Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY−15.8%1,9552,322−367
68Statesboro GA−15.7%9971,183−186
69Lynchburg VA−15.5%9511,126−175
70Billings MT−15.3%1,0601,251−191
71Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA−15.1%1,3601,601−241
72Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN−14.6%16,88319,760−2,877
73Sanford NC−14.5%617722−105
74Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach FL−14.2%4,5875,345−758
75Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas NV−14.1%11,00412,806−1,802
76Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ−13.5%35,15940,661−5,502
77Jacksonville FL−13.4%11,93013,775−1,845
78Beaumont-Port Arthur TX−13.3%8961,034−138
79Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway AR−13.2%2,7623,181−419
80Twin Falls ID−13.0%654752−98
81Lincoln NE−13.0%2,0892,402−313
82Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX−13.0%59,21468,056−8,842
83Fort Smith AR-OK−12.9%620712−92
84Las Cruces NM−12.6%782895−113
85Panama City-Panama City Beach FL−12.6%2,1042,408−304
86Homosassa Springs FL−12.1%1,9432,210−267
87Spokane-Spokane Valley WA−12.1%3,1883,626−438
88Topeka KS−12.1%569647−78
89Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX−11.9%61,27569,544−8,269
90Traverse City MI−11.7%1,0071,141−134
91Louisville-Jefferson County KY-IN−11.6%5,5626,295−733
92Staunton-Stuarts Draft VA−11.6%783886−103
93McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX−11.2%6,5737,398−825
94Albuquerque NM−11.1%2,7063,045−339
95Charlottesville VA−11.1%1,3091,472−163
96Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL−11.0%620697−77
97Ocala FL−11.0%5,6456,341−696
98Macon-Bibb County GA−10.5%484541−57
99Atlantic City-Hammonton NJ−10.4%1,4881,661−173
100Clarksville TN-KY−10.3%2,6562,961−305

Top 100 of 296 ranked metro areas. Every row links to that geography’s full monthly permit history.

Other permit rankings

Metro areas with the most building permitsMetropolitan and micropolitan areas ranked by housing units authorized over the last 12 months.Counties with the most building permitsU.S. counties ranked by housing units authorized over the last 12 months.Building permits per capita by countyCounties ranked by units authorized per 1,000 residents — the housing-supply rate, not raw volume.Building permits per capita by metro areaMetro areas ranked by units authorized per 1,000 residents — the housing-supply rate.Fastest-growing housing markets by building permitsMetro areas with the largest year-over-year increase in permitted units, same window both years.Metro areas where multifamily is the biggest share of new housingMetro areas ranked by the share of permitted units in buildings with 5 or more units — share, not volume.

Go deeper

Every metro area →Monthly permit history for all metropolitan and micropolitan areas.Home sale prices →County median sale prices — pair supply with what the market is clearing at.Fair Market Rents →HUD rents by county, metro, and bedroom count — the rent side of the same market.

Building permits by state

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Housing markets with the steepest permit declines — FAQ

Which housing market is slowing fastest?+

Clovis NM shows the largest year-over-year decrease in permitted housing units, down 86.7% comparing Aug 2025–Jul 2026 vs. Aug 2024–Jul 2025 (Census Building Permits Survey).

Could a decline just mean a jurisdiction stopped reporting?+

Yes, and that is the main caveat. The Building Permits Survey imputes for some non-reporters, but a jurisdiction that goes silent can look like a collapse in permitting. Check the geography's own page for the monthly series before treating a decline as real.

Is one large project enough to move a metro area?+

In mid-size metros, yes. A single 300-unit apartment approval in the prior-year window can produce a large percentage decline the following year with nothing else changing. The 500-unit floor removes the markets too small to survive that arithmetic, but not the effect — the unit-change column shows the absolute size of the move.

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