NC in Focus: New Residential Construction, 2013

Nationwide, nearly 1 million building permits were issued for new residential construction in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey. Texas led the nation, accounting for 15% of all authorized housing units, followed by Florida (9%) and California (8%). North Carolina issued the fourth largest amount of residential building permits in 2013: 51,290, accounting for 6% of the national total. In fifth place, housing units authorized by Georgia comprised 4% of all 2013 building permits.

Within North Carolina, nearly 1 in every 5 units authorized was in Wake County (10,026). Mecklenburg had the second largest amount of new residential units (8,558), followed by Durham (3,823), New Hanover (1,893), and Union (1,773). Four counties—Scotland, Washington, Hertford, and Martin—reported fewer than 10 new units authorized in 2013.

Compared to the nation, a larger share of new residential construction in North Carolina was single family homes (68.9% vs. 62.7% nationwide). Units in larger apartment buildings (5+ units) comprised more than a third (34.4%) of building permits issued nationwide in 2013. In North Carolina, they represented 30.3% of new construction. Similarly, North Carolina had fewer new units in duplexes or smaller apartment buildings (3- or 4-unit buildings) than the national average.