PERMIT1 · as of 2026-09-01
SF Permits
New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places - Single-Family Units
View on FRED · PERMIT1 ↗846k
yoy
▼ 4.73%
121 obs · monthly · thousands── 1y ago 888k
What it is
Earliest signal of SFR supply pipeline. Builders commit to permits before they break ground.
- source
- FRED
- frequency
- monthly
- units
- thousands
- s.a.
- yes
Note: SAAR.
What it’s telling us · as of 2026-09-01
SF permits are running 846K annualized, down nearly 5% from a year ago — the earliest signal that builders are pulling back on single-family starts before it shows up in housing-starts data proper. The last six months have bounced between 846K and 929K with no clear trend, which reads as hesitation rather than a coordinated retreat; builders are testing the market but not committing hard. Watch whether the next two readings hold above 850K or roll over into the 800s — sustained sub-800K prints would mean the SFR supply pipeline is tightening ahead of the broader cycle, which eventually prices in as rent and price support in 12–18 months.
⟡ auto-generated weekly · claude-haiku-4-5 · reviewed before publish
Related metrics
Get the data
Python · fredapi
"""
SF Permits — Earliest signal of SFR supply pipeline. Builders commit to permits before they break ground.
Freq: monthly · Source: FRED
"""
from fredapi import Fred
fred = Fred(api_key="YOUR_FRED_API_KEY")
series = fred.get_series("PERMIT1")
print(series.tail())LLM prompt
You are analyzing FRED series PERMIT1 — New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places - Single-Family Units. Context: Earliest signal of SFR supply pipeline. Builders commit to permits before they break ground. Attributes - Units: thousands - Frequency: monthly - Source: FRED Latest observation: 846k as of 2026-09-01 Year-over-year change: -4.73% Analyze this metric for a tech-forward real estate investor with 1–3 properties. What is it signaling right now? What should I watch next?