More than half of new SF building permits issued in only four counties

Of the 4,007 new single-family permits issued during the first five months of 2012, 2,314 of them, or 57 percent, were issued in El Paso, Weld, Douglas and Larimer counties alone. According to new May single-family permit data by county, released by the Census Bureau, the counties with the largest numbers of single-family permits issued during the first four months of 2012 were El Paso, Douglas, Weld and Larimer, with El Paso reporting more single-family permits during the period than any other county.

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New single-family permits during January-April 2012
El Paso 876
Douglas 612
Weld 409
Larimer 417

Also:
Adams 257
Arapahoe 318
Boulder 100
Broomfield 42
Chaffee 52
Elbert 15
Jefferson 289
Mesa 139
Park 21
Pueblo 52
Routt 12
Teller 17

(Note: All permits discussed in this article are single-family permits.)

However, when permit totals are adjusted to the number of existing housing units in each county, the counties with the largest amounts of permit activity were Douglas, Weld, El Paso, El Paso and Chaffee counties.These counties have reported some of the highest permitting rates for several months..

During the first four months of 2012, the metro counties with the smallest amount of new single-family permits relative to the size of the existing stock were Boulder and Pueblo counties. 

In a larger context, single-family permits remain well below totals experienced prior to 2007. From 2006 to 2008, single-family permits in the state decreased 60 percent from 31,000 to 12,000. Permit activity appears to have bottomed out in 2009. When discussing permit activity from 2008 to the present time, even in areas that report substantial increases, we're looking at permit totals that are near 20-year lows.However, growth rates during 2012 so far has been greater than what has been seen in recent years.

Largest year over year increases among metro counties (including January-May):
Arapahoe 34 percent
Denver 35 percent
Jefferson 56 percent
Larimer 60 percent
Weld 63 percent
Douglas 110 percent
El Paso 44 percent

Largest year over year decreases among metro counties (including January-May):

Pueblo 13 percent

Pueblo county was the only metro county to report a year-over-year decline in single-family permits.

Conclusions: Single family permitting continues to increase in all metro areas of the state except Pueblo, with rate of increase ranging from about 16 percent (Mesa County) to 110 percent (Douglas County). Statewide, overall growth in single-family permits continues to grow, although rates remain well below what was seen six or seven years ago. The overall trend is toward mild growth in single-family permits, although many areas of the state are reporting growth in multifamily permits that exceeds 100 percent or more, year over year.