Building Permits: 1.4MK units (Dec 2025)
The building permits moved to 1.4M in Dec 2025, up 60.00 from 1.4M in Nov 2025. Year-over-year, the reading is down 32.00 from 1.5M.
Building Permits - Historical Chart
New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units. Gray shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Series PERMIT. Shaded areas = NBER recession dates. Updated 2026-03-09.
What the Dec 2025 Data Shows
At 1.4M, the building permits in Dec 2025 is below the 10-year average of 1.5M by 2.67. The reading has been mixed recently, fluctuating without a clear directional trend over the past 6 months.
FRED series PERMIT tracks building permits issued for new housing construction. Because permits must be obtained before construction begins, this series leads housing starts by 1-2 months, making it a forward-looking indicator of construction activity.
Permits are issued by local government authorities and reflect builder confidence, lot availability, and regulatory processing speed. A declining permit trend signals that builders see weakening demand and are pulling back on planned construction.
Not all permitted units get built. Historically, about 95-97% of single-family permits result in starts, while multifamily permit-to-start conversion can be lower due to project financing and entitlement challenges.
What This Metric Measures
This page tracks the number of new privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, reported as SAAR in thousands. The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, series PERMIT, updated monthly.
Historical Context
The all-time peak was 2.4M in Dec 1972 — roughly 1.7x the current level. The all-time trough was 513K in Mar 2009. During COVID-19 in 2020, the reading hit 1.8M (Dec 2020). Year-over-year, the metric has moved -2.2%.
Why It Matters
Permits are the earliest available signal of housing construction intentions. For building material suppliers, subcontractors, and equipment rental companies, the permit trend determines demand 2-4 months ahead. A sharp decline in permits gives these businesses time to adjust staffing and inventory.
For the broader economy, permits feed into the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), which uses them as one of ten components for predicting economic turning points.
What This Means for Business Owners
Understanding where this metric stands relative to historical norms helps business owners make better borrowing decisions. Metrics far from their 10-year average often signal turning points that affect the cost and availability of credit.
Comparison - Dec 2025
| Category | Current | Prior Period | Year Ago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Permits ★ | 1448K | 1388K | 1480K | 60.00 ↑ |
| Housing Starts | 1404K | 1322K | 1514K | 82.00 ↑ |
Source: Federal Reserve FRED. All rates seasonally adjusted. ★ = primary focus of this page.
Building Permits - Frequently Asked Questions
Building permits are at 1448.00K units SAAR as of Dec 2025, per FRED series PERMIT.
Permits moved up from Nov 2025. The reading has been mixed recently, fluctuating without a clear directional trend over the past 6 months.
Permits lead starts by 1-2 months. If permits are falling, expect starts to follow. About 95-97% of single-family permits result in actual construction starts.
The U.S. needs roughly 1.5 million new housing units per year to keep pace with household formation. Permits below 1,200K SAAR suggest under-building; above 1,800K suggests overheating.
No. Sun Belt states (Texas, Florida, the Carolinas) have consistently higher permit volumes due to population growth and lower construction costs. The Census Bureau publishes regional breakdowns.
FRED series PERMIT, from the Census Bureau and HUD New Residential Construction report. Published monthly.
Related Data & Guides
Data sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Updated monthly when new data is released.