US Building Permits
An annualized 1,410 thousand US housing units were authorized by building permits in May 2026, down 0.4% from May 2025.
Updated July 12, 2026
US Building Permits
thousand units, SAARDownload this statistic
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How this statistic is built
DefinitionNew privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, in thousands of units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).
LimitationsPermits lead construction — not every permitted unit breaks ground. Monthly values are preliminary and revised; annual-rate scaling amplifies month-to-month noise.
Frequently Asked Questions
An annualized 1,410 thousand US housing units were authorized by building permits in May 2026, down 0.4% from May 2025.
US Building Permits fell 0.4% compared with May 2025, reaching May 2026's reading.
U.S. Census Bureau — New Residential Construction (permits authorized, total units, SAAR). License: US public domain. StatsPanda charts the original series directly and cites it on every download.
The underlying series is released on a monthly cadence. This page was last updated July 12, 2026, and refreshes with each source release.