Multifamily Permit Share
The share of newly authorized housing units that are in buildings of two or more units.
The Census Bureau tabulates authorized units by type of structure: "Multifamily structures are classified by the number of housing units in the structure. Data are tabulated for 2 units, 3 and 4 units combined, and 5 or more unit structures" (Building Permits Survey definitions). This measure combines all three categories and expresses them as a proportion of every unit authorized.
The Bureau's definition of multifamily housing reads: "Residential buildings containing units built one on top of another and those built side-by-side which do not have a ground-to-roof wall and/or have common facilities (i.e., attic, basement, heating plant, plumbing, etc.)". A townhouse separated from its neighbour by a ground-to-roof wall, with its own utilities, counts as single-family rather than multifamily.
The measure describes what a place is authorizing, not how much. It is a read on the form new housing is taking — attached and stacked, or detached — and it is usually read alongside Multifamily Permits, which carries the volume.
Metrics in this family#
Considerations#
Annual figures run from 2013 and monthly figures from January 2020, in both cases through the most recent release. Publication lags the present, and recent periods can move as late reports arrive.
Multifamily share and single-family share are complements of the same total: every authorized unit falls into one or the other, so the two shares sum to one. They are two readings of one fact, not two independent pieces of evidence.
Structure type is not tenure. Multifamily buildings can be condominiums sold to owners, and single-family houses can be built to rent. The survey records the shape of the building, not who will occupy it or on what terms.
Where a place authorizes very few units in a period, the share rests on a small denominator and moves sharply on one filing.
Nonresponding permit offices are imputed by the Bureau, with multifamily units imputed separately from single-family units and separately again for the two-to-four unit and five-or-more unit categories (methodology).
Authorization is not delivery. Multifamily projects carry longer lead times than single-family ones and are more exposed to financing conditions between permit and start, so a high share reflects intent that may not fully arrive.
Permits are published for places, counties and metro areas, not tracts. See how we combine geographies.
References#
- 1Building Permits Survey definitionshttps://www.census.gov/construction/bps/definitions.html
- 2Building Permits Survey Methodologyhttps://www.census.gov/construction/bps/methodology.html