Multi-family building permits fell 27% from Pandemic High in Austin, Texas, as cities such as Stockton, California led new permits like food stalls.
For the 12 months ended March 2025, the developer has obtained permission to build apartment complex units of 12.4 per 10,000 people nationwide. That figure is down 27.1% from the height of construction during the pandemic era, 5.5% below the pre-pandemic average.
The findings, based on data from the US Census Bureau, were published by Redfin on May 2, highlighting changes in the housing market following the construction boom that encouraged remote work and migration to the Sunbelt cities. Of the 78 major metropolitan areas analyzed, nearly two-thirds (63%) issue fewer permits than they did during the pandemic.
“The new apartments are being rented at the slowest speeds on record, and builders are pumping the brakes as many projects are becoming prohibitively expensive,” said Sheharyal Bokali, senior economist at Redfin, in a statement. “At some point in the following year, a slowdown in the building means tenants have fewer options.
Sunbelt cities continue to lead by allowing new multifamily homes despite a wider nationwide decline. Austin, Texas, has broken through all metros with 64.5 permits per 10,000 people over the past year, followed by Northport, Florida, top with 59.6 and 53.3 permits, respectively. Raleigh, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida concluded their top five with 41.1 and 40.7 per 100,000 people, respectively.
Meanwhile, in some areas there was little or no new multifamily construction. Stockton, California did not issue multi-family unit permits during the period analyzed. Bakersfield, California, El Paso, Texas, Providence, Rhode Island, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana also reported very low permitting rates with less than two units per 10,000 people.
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The data reflects changing developer incentives, Redfin said. Although demand for rentals has skyrocketed in recent years, particularly in the rapidly growing metro, today’s high borrowing costs and flattening rental costs have made many new projects economically unfeasible.
Some cities were against national trends. Oklahoma City saw the biggest increase in permitting activity, up 193% from the pandemic-era average. Other metros that have achieved significant growth include Pittsburgh, Hartford, Baton Rouge and Milwaukee. Still, even with these benefits, all five of them are below the current national average per capita permit.
The report measured multi-family permits for buildings of 5 or more units and compared the last 12 months (April-March 2024) to the averages for the pandemic year (2020-2023) and pre-pandemic (2014-2020).
Redfin said as construction slows down, economists and housing advocates are closely watching the impact on rental supply and affordability, especially in cities where new buildings have been nearing halted.
