HOUSTON – Houston’s building permits reached an all-time high in January with single-family homes, office towers, high-rise condos, apartment buildings all pitching in. Over the last 12 months $6.2 billion in construction was permitted, a record level in the city.
Residential permits in January were up 51 percent over January of 2013, according to a report by the Greater Houston Partnership.
Permits were issued in January to build a whopping 49 multi-family buildings in Houston.
Transwestern is preparing to pour a foundation in a few days on the 30-story BHP Billiton tower and Hines is starting work on a 1 million-square-foot tower on Main Street. And the skyline in Uptown, the Energy Corridor and The Woodlands is dotted with multiple construction cranes.
Houston led the nation in job growth in 2013, creating 82,000 new jobs, a 3 percent gain over 2012 job levels.
The Greater Houston Partnership on Monday released the following report:
“For the 12 months ending January 2014, the city issued building permits totaling $6.2 billion, surpassing the pre-recession peak of $6 billion in October 2008. This was also a 25.5 percent increase over the $5.0 billion issued during the 12 months ending January 2013. Residential permits increased 31.1 percent from $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion and nonresidential permits increased 22.2 percent from $3.1 billion to $3.9 billion.
“For the month of January 2014, the City of Houston issued building permits totaling $580.2 million, a 20.9 percent increase over the $479.8 million issued in January 2013. The large year-over-year growth was due to a 51.1 percent increase in residential permit values, from $136.7 million in January 2013 to $206.5 million in January 2014. Permits were issued for 428 single-family homes for a total value of $105.7 million and 49 multi-family buildings for $83.2 million. Nonresidential permits increased 8.9 percent from $343.1 million in January 2013 to $373.7 million in January 2014.”