The busiest months for building are typically between May and September, however, Dallas kicked off its busy season with some mixed results.
Overall construction activity in Dallas was lackluster in June, with the local permitting department counting fewer new single-family and multifamily permits than a year earlier, according to an economic impact report published by the City’s Development Services Department (DSD). Although Dallas saw reduced activity for such projects, commercial and non-tax permitting saw spikes compared to last year.
DSD counted 141 new single-family permits in June 2023, which was about 16 fewer permits than in June 2022. Despite the year-over-year dip, the total construction valuation for those permits was greater in 2023. DSD’s single-family permit activity was valued at approximately $50.4 million last month, or roughly $1.7 million more than in June 2022, according to the report.
New single-family permit activity in Dallas is tracked by DSD’s residential permit dashboard. Data from the dashboard shows that DSD’s median cycle time in June was 25 days when accounting for staff and applicant time.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, long permitting wait times and complicated regulations — which have become a subject of controversy in the city — have characterized the supervision of Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who was almost dismissed last year over his handling of City operations.
Dallas does not currently provide a public means of tracking multifamily or commercial activity. However, as previously reported by The Dallas Express, DSD is working with the City’s Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence to develop a commercial activity dashboard.
“I know it’s more complex, but … we still need a greater understanding of the commercial side,” Dallas City Council Member Gay Donnell Willis of District 13 said during an April 3 Economic Development Committee meeting.
During the meeting, DSD Assistant Director Vernon Young assured the committee members that the process was underway.
“We want the commercial community to know that DSD is vested and excited about the steps we’re taking in the next few months to provide them with accurate information,” said Young.
Still, a multifamily permit activity dashboard has not yet been officially proposed. Although Dallas has a major need for new multifamily housing units, permit activity for such projects saw a steep drop from a year earlier, according to the report.
In June 2023, DSD counted 78 new multifamily permits valued at around $130 million, down from the 132 permits valued at roughly $143.7 million in June 2022.
The one area of construction where Dallas seemed to show some strength was the commercial real estate sector. Last month, DSD counted 48 new commercial permits valued at approximately $83.2 million, whereas the department counted 12 new commercial permits worth around $14 million in June of last year.
Construction permits for minor repairs and additions were also included in June’s economic activity report. The full report can be viewed here.