Census Bureau names Houston as nation’s top construction market.

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It’s been a roller coaster of a year for the national housing market, but one area that’s been on track since the beginning is Houston, which has emerged as one of, if not the, premiere market in the U.S. The one setback that hungry Houston homebuyers have struggled with, however, is a lack of options.

Houston’s inventory levels have consistently lagged behind demand, which has cultivated an atmosphere of expected multiple offers and hefty increases to home prices. It seems now, though, builders in the area are starting to pick up the pace, according to the recently released October figures from the Census Bureau.

Year-to-date, Houston leads the nation with new housing units permitted, boasting a total of 52,571, a margin of over 11,000 from the second most active market, New York. When considering new housing units per 1,000 existing units, Houston again stands out, coming in as the sixth most active market with 22.9.

Nationally, as we recently reported, housing starts have taken a bit of a stumble, falling 7 percent year-over-year in November and further asserting the growing importance of multifamily housing.

To see how Houston compares with the rest of the market, check out our graph below: