Building Permit Update 2023

Based on the 2023 US Census Building Permit Survey data, CDRPC noted a decrease in the overall number of units that were issued a building permit, following yearly increases from 2020 to 2022. The 2023 data reflects an all-time low, with only 1,873 total units issued a building permit in the Capital Region, a number similar to the permits issued from 2018 to 2020. It is important to note that the number of permit issuances relies on municipalities reporting to the Census Bureau. Municipalities that do not report their issuances may appear to have issued fewer permits than they actually have, potentially leading to a significant undercount in this year’s update.

About the data: The U.S. Census Building Permit Data categorizes permits based on the number of units and buildings for which they are issued. For example, a permit for a single-family home is recorded as one building and one unit. The data also distinguishes between 2-unit buildings, 3-4 unit buildings, and buildings with 5 or more units (multi-family homes), providing separate values for the number of buildings and total units. In this DataNews article, the number of permits refers to the number of units that were issued a permit.

Total Building Permits

This year, the number of units that were issued building permit decreased in the Capital Region. From 2022, the number of unit issuances have decreased by 35.92%. In recent years, from 2019-2022 the number of units issued a building permit were rising, however, this year unit issuances have decreased. 

Single-family building permit issuances decreased from 1,214 in 2022 to 942 in 2023, a decrease of 22.40%. This is the lowest single-family building permit issuances since 2015. Similarly, the units for multi-family permit issuances decreased from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, there were 1,709 multi-family units issued a building permit and in 2023 there were 931 permits issued, a decrease of 45.52% between years. Issuances for multi-family units are the lowest they have been since 2020.

Share of Building Permits

In 2023, there was an equal share of multi-family and single-family units issued a permit. The share of single-family permits issuances peaked in 2020 and has decreased by 18% since then. However, from 2022 to 2023 permits for single-family units increased by 8%. 

Breakdown by County

Of the 1,873 total units issued a permit in 2023, Saratoga County issued the most with approximately 47% of all permits. Of these permits, 65% were for single-family units and 35% were for multi-family units. Compared to 49% of shares taken by Saratoga County in 2022, their shares in 2023 have decreased by 2%. Albany County had the second most units issued a permit, with 33% of the total issuances in the region. Of these issued permits 30% were for single-family units and 70% were for multi-family units. Rensselaer County saw an 7.7% increase in the share of permits, jumping from 7.3% in 2022, to 15% in 2023. Of this 15%, 37% are permit issuances for single-family units and 63% are for multi-family permits. Schenectady County accounted for 5% of the units issued a permit, with 86% for single-family units and 14% for multi-family units.

Breakdown by Municipality 

Of all the municipalities throughout the region, the Town of Guilderland issued the most unit permits, totaling 278. Of these 278 permits, 20 were for single-family units and 258 were for multi-family units. The Town of Ballston issued the second most unit permits, with 200 total units, 96 of which were single-family units and 104 were for multi-family units. The Town of Stillwater issued the third most permits, totaling 155 units. Of these 155 permits issued, 35 were for single-family units and 120 were for multi-family units. To examine the three most recent years of data available, click the map and select to toggle on and off the year. 

Additional Resources:

https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/methodology.html

https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/visualizations/statemap/index.html