2020 Single-family Home Permits in Metro Detroit Down 10%, Up for December

The 2020 total for single-family home permits fell nearly 10 percent from 2019; the total across Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties was 4,067, down from 4,503, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan in Bingham Farms.
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Single-family home permits fell nearly 10 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. // Stock photo

The 2020 total for single-family home permits fell nearly 10 percent from 2019; the total across Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties was 4,067, down from 4,503, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan in Bingham Farms.

In December 2020, a total of 309 single-family home permits were issued in the counties. The association’s econometric model had forecast 269 permits for the month. December also marked the seventh consecutive month above 300 permits.

The seven-month period of June 2020-December 2020 totaled 2,851 permits, which was more than 2 percent higher than the same timeframe in 2019, when 2,783 permits were issued.

“From where we were this spring, finishing 2020 above the 4,000-permit threshold — and down less than 10 percent compared to 2019 — is pretty remarkable,” says Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the association. “Perhaps what was more remarkable in 2020, Oakland County (1,721) and St. Clair County (154) each exceed their SFH permits issued compared to 2019 (1,717 and 152, respectively).”

The top five municipalities for single-family permits for the year were Canton Township (316), Macomb Township (310), Shelby Township (238), Novi (214), and Chesterfield Township (181). The top five builders in the four-county area were Pulte Homes (486), Lombardo Homes (417), M/I Homes (189), MJC Cos. (142), and Toll Brothers (119).

Total permits issued for multi-family apartments in 2020 — 1,850 — showed a much sharper decline compared to 2019 (2,387), a drop of nearly 23 percent. Activity quickly declined once COVID-19 related restrictions were put into place in April. Uncertainty related to near-term COVID-19 impacts related to multi-family properties resulted in a 37 percent decline in permits issued from June-December.

In December, the average new single-family permit value was $343,939, a 14.2 percent increase from the previous month and a 34.4 percent increase from the previous year. The average single-family home sale price was $249,863, a 2.2 decrease from the previous month and a 13.9 percent increase from the previous year.

The number of people employed was 1,846,840. This was largely flat from November 2020, with a decrease of 0.5 percent, and a drop from December 2019, with a decrease of 4.8 percent.

The workforce stayed largely flat in December; it included 2,030,166 people, an increase of 1.5 percent and 0.9 percent for November 2020 and December 2019, respectively.

North American vehicle production dropped 7.7 percent from November 2020 to 1,149,196 units. This is an increase of 1.9 percent from the previous year.

Crude oil price per barrel was $42.15, a 1.7 percent increase from the previous month and a 26.2 percent decrease from the previous year.