DALLAS — With just two months remaining in 2022, single-family housing permits continue to be down by double-digit percentages in many of the hot spots for new construction in the suburbs north of Dallas.
Permits to build houses in are down 38% in Celina, 32% in Frisco, and 26% in McKinney through the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. They’re down 28% in Princeton, 23% in Prosper, and 19% in Anna, according to data compiled by Addison-based Tomlin Investments, which tracks new home construction north of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Sharply higher mortgage rates are the main culprit driving down demand in the for-sale housing space nationwide, and despite the DFW area’s population and employment growth, North Texas is no exception to the downturn.
Homebuilders have halted or at least cut back construction because of the lack of demand from prospective buyers who can no longer make their budgets work for new-house payments.
Here’s how the percentage declines are playing out in real terms in select DFW cities:
Some 1,425 new homes have received the necessary city approvals for construction year-to-date in Celina, down from 2,287 through the first 10 months of last year. In Frisco, home building permits are down to 1,194 so far this year from 1,744 at this time last year. McKinney’s permits are down to 1,119 through the end of October from 1,508 permits through Oct. 31, 2021.
Princeton’s residential construction permits are down to 978 houses this year from 1,355 in the first 10 months of last year. Prosper’s permits have fallen to 838 homes from 1,082. In Anna, 811 building permits have been issued this year vs. 996 in the first 10 months of 2021.
New single-family building permits have dropped sharply in Fort Worth, too. Home building permits dropped 46% year-over-year in October, from 752 last year to 405 this year, according to a recent report to the Fort Worth City Council. That’s a one-month figure, as opposed to the others which compare the year-to-date totals. New single-family building permits fell 44% from September to October in Fort Worth.
There are exceptions to the declines in North Texas, including Denton, Melissa and Little Elm.
In Denton, permits are up 46% to 1,097 homes year-to-date in 2022 from 753 in the initial 10 months of 2021. Melissa has risen 17% to 848 homes from 722 last year. And Little Elm has managed an 8% increase so far this year, with 1,102 permits issued in 2022 compared to 1,020 in the first 10 months of 2021.