Building Permits Survey Program

Data collected from state and local officials on new residential construction authorized by building permits provide one of the few monthly measures of economic activity available for small geographic areas. The series, a component of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index, is also used to estimate the number of housing units started, completed, and sold, if single-family, and to select samples for the Census Bureau’s demographic surveys. Policymakers, planners, businesses, and others also use the detailed geographic data to monitor growth, plan for local services, and to develop production and marketing plans.

The latest form for Building Permits Survey Program expires 2021-12-31 and can be found here.