Insider Only News Residential Real Estate Statewide News

Delaware home-building permits steady through Q3

October 30, 2023 |By Katie Tabeling

Delaware Millennials took out the lowest number of home loans in 2022

Single unit residences made up a bulk of the residential building permits in Delaware this year so far. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING DOVER — Delaware residential building permits remain relatively on track compared to the same point of time in 2022, with single-family homes making the bulk of the

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Single unit residences made up a bulk of the residential building permits in Delaware this year so far. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING[/caption] DOVER — Delaware residential building permits remain relatively on track compared to the same point of time in 2022, with single-family homes making the bulk of the permits issued for the month of September. September saw 468 total building permits for private homes issued alone in the First State at a value of $64.8 million, according to the monthly report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau. Year to date, the Delaware construction sector has been issued 4,683 building permits. By September 2022, the state had collectively issued 4,863 permits. In the past five years, Delaware’s record of residential building permits issued in a year was 8,500 in 2021, bolstered by the fact that Gov. John Carney allowed construction to continue without stopping during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Census Bureau releases monthly and annual building permits surveys to provide national, state and local statistics on the number and valuation of new privately-owned housing units that were issued building permits in the country. Building permits signal that a developer may start construction, but these surveys do not indicate whether construction has started. The data in the census surveys cover private homes, or those not owned by government entities. However, units in structures built by private developers with some government funding or that come to market through federal or local programs are considered private housing. Housing units are defined as a house, apartment, group of rooms or a single room intended for separate living quarters. Delaware is ranked 41st in issuing building permits in September so far, according to the Census Bureau data. The First State ranked ahead of rural and other smaller states like Alaska, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Vermont and North Dakota. In comparison, Pennsylvania has issued 17,909 residential building permits while Maryland issued 14,228 building permits. Texas and Florida have issued the most residential building permits in 2023 so far, at 176,445 and 151,201 respectively. Right now, there are 1.47 million building permits for homes issued across the nation. In September, 1.3 million residences were started and 1.45 million residences were completed in America. The U.S. Census building permit survey is created by looking at municipal, county or township permit offices. Because building permits are public records, local area data can be published without any confidentiality concerns. The report is issued on the 17th workday of the month. Delaware’s housing stock has historically been known for single-family dwelling units, per the Delaware Housing Needs Assessment. In September 2023, 429 building permits were issued for one unit structures, although the U.S. Census Bureau does not specify which style of housing this may be. Last month, there were 35 building permits issued for multi-family dwelling structures of five units or more. The report specifies that two structures with more than five units were issued building permits. Four permits were issued for structures with two units.