New Jersey Residential Building Permits

April 2013

According to the latest data from the US Bureau of the Census on housing units authorized by building permits, New Jersey had 1,883 units authorized for construction in April.  This is 310 more permits than the 1,573 issued in April 2012.  The increase was the result in gains in authorizations for single-family (+244 units) and multi-family (+66 units) housing.

Over the month, the number of residential units authorized for construction increased by 204 units or 12.2 percent compared with March’s revised total of 1,679.  This gain was due to more authorizations for single-family houses in April.  Compared to March, permitting for single-family residences rose over-the-month by 256 units or 37.9 percent while authorizations for residences in multi-family structures fell by 52 units or 5.2 percent over the same period.  Permitting for multi-family units typically fluctuates more from month to month than approvals for single-family homes.

Hudson County led the state with the most issuances of building permits with a total of 294.  Of these, 290 were for units in multi-family structures and 5 were for single-family structures.  Approvals for multi-family units in the county were concentrated in Bayonne (122), East Newark (60) and Secaucus (58).

The second ranking county was Essex, with a total of 283 units, including 198 multi-family units and 85 single-family houses.  East Orange led the county’s municipalities for approvals of units in multi-family structures (65), followed by Newark (50).  Single-family permitting was concentrated in Livingston Township (49).

In third place was Bergen County, where 214 units were authorized, including 140 multi-family units and 74 single-family houses.  Lyndhurst Township led the county’s municipalities  with a total of 36 approvals including 35 multi-family units and one single-family residence.  Ranking fourth among the state’s 21 counties was Middlesex with 196 units including 112 multi-family units and 84 single-family houses.  Piscataway Township approved the largest number of multi-family units (57), while Monroe Township was the county’s leading municipality for approvals of single-family units (33).  In fifth place was Monmouth County where permits were issued for 125 units, including 105 single-family houses and 21 units in multi-family structures.  Permitting was scattered across various municipalities in the county.

Nationally, the issuance of building permits on a not seasonally adjusted basis rose by17,700 or 19.4% over the month from 75,800 in March 2013 to 90,500 in April 2013.  In February 2013, 66,000 permits were issued.  Across the United States, building permits were up over the year by 26,400 or 41.2 percent from 64,100 in April 2012.  For the month of April 2013, single-family homes accounted for 66.0 percent of the units authorized while 34.0 percent were multi-family units.

New Jersey’s total of 6,215 units authorized through April 2013 was up by 1,283 units or 26.0 percent compared to the April 2012 total of 4,932.  The year-to-date total reflects demand for homebuilding in the northern part of the state as two counties (Bergen and Hudson) accounted for 21.4 percent of the statewide total.  Bergen County tops the list with 735 permit issues, of which 515 were for multi-family units and 220 were for single-family units.  Hudson County ranked second, with a total of 595 units, including 575 multi-family units and 16 single-family houses.  The top municipality in the state for approvals is Lyndhurst Township in Bergen County (305 units), including 304 multi-family units and one single-family house.

In the United States, 290,808 units were authorized year-to-date through April 2013.  This represents an increase of 67,643 units or 29.4 percent from the levels of April 2012 (230,165).  Through April 2013, 193,626 single-family units were authorized (65.0%).  The remaining 104,182 units were in multi-family buildings (34.7%).

Detailed residential building permit data for New Jersey, its counties, as well as all 565 municipalities are available from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development on the Internet (http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/LMI_index.html).