Whether because of “smart growth” policies or market forces, multifamily housing seems to be making a comeback in the Bay State. By 2004, Massachusetts had almost caught up to the rest of the US in granting permits for new housing units, but the construction recovery was almost entirely due to condos and apartments rather than single-family homes. A total of 22,477 new residences were given the green light by local governments in the Bay State in 2004, up from an even 18,000 four years earlier. But the increase in the number of new single-family homes was only a blip, from 14,199 to 14,842.Meanwhile, attached units more than doubled, from 3,801 to 7,635, and the increase in units in buildings with at least four other flats was even more dramatic, from 2,771 to 6,195.

During this period, single-family homes dropped from 79 percent to 66 percent of all new housing units in Massachusetts—the opposite of the national trend, where single-family homes rose from 75 percent to 78 percent.As a result, the Bay State’s middling rank overall can be separated into a strong 9th in terms of adding multi-unit housing and a poor 46th in terms of producing single- family homes. New Hampshire and Vermont posted even more dramatic gains in new apartments alongside weak gains in single-family houses, but in 2004 single-family homes still made up 81 percent of all new housing in New Hampshire and 75 percent in Vermont. (New York was the only state where multi-unit housing actually made up a majority of new construction.)

The numbers change depending on what year 2004 is compared with, but the story is essentially the same. The modest gain in permits for singlefamily homes shown on the chart here turns into a decrease of 4 percent if we look at the numbers from 1999 through 2004, against an increase of 118 percent for attached units.And from 1994 through 2004, the number of new single-family units in Massachusetts went down by 10 percent (for a ranking of 48th), but the number of attached units soared by 383 percent—easily the highest jump in the nation.

ANNUAL PERMITS FOR NEW HOUSING, 2000-04

Rank State % change in total permits * % change for separate units ** Rank % change for attached units Rank
1. Wyoming 104.1 90.8 4 228.8 2
2. Montana 93.4 118.7 1 53.9 15
3. North Dakota 88.4 98.7 2 73.6 11
4. Hawaii 84.2 31.7 28 427.9 1
5. Arkansas 71.3 51.3 10 132.3 6
6. Delaware 70.4 92.4 3 -53.2 49
7. Florida 64.8 76.1 5 40.2 19
8. Idaho 63.6 56.0 7 122.5 7
9. Louisiana 53.5 54.8 8 43.0 18
10. Arizona 47.4 65.4 6 -22.0 45
11. Oklahoma 47.1 54.1 9 21.6 27
12. Alaska 45.9 10.2 41 152.2 5
13. Alabama 43.2 46.0 14 32.8 22
14. Vermont 42.5 21.5 36 200.3 3
15. California 42.5 44.3 16 37.6 20
16. New Mexico 41.6 42.5 19 29.8 23
17. West Virginia 39.7 46.7 13 -9.6 39
18. Maine 39.1 37.2 23 63.6 13
19. Nevada 37.6 50.9 11 -14.8 43
20. Oregon 37.4 32.7 27 54.6 14
21. Utah 36.1 35.8 25 38.0 21
22. South Dakota 35.8 43.8 18 11.8 29
23. Tennessee 34.4 48.8 12 -10.8 42
24. South Carolina 31.6 44.9 15 -10.1 40
25. Texas 30.6 33.3 26 21.6 26
26. Virginia 30.6 23.2 33 64.6 12
27. Iowa 29.5 44.3 17 -1.6 34
28. New Hampshire 29.0 14.2 39 183.2 4
29. Missouri 28.4 38.4 22 0.4 32
30. Washington 26.9 41.9 20 -1.4 33
31. Minnesota 26.8 26.6 30 27.4 24
32. Connecticut 26.3 13.5 40 111.3 8
33. Massachusetts 24.9 4.5 46 100.9 9
34. Mississippi 23.7 39.4 21 -9.0 38
35. Kentucky 21.8 23.7 32 13.8 28
36. New York 21.0 0.5 47 45.2 16
37. Pennsylvania 20.8 20.1 38 24.2 25
38. North Carolina 18.8 30.6 29 -17.5 44
39. Nebraska 18.4 36.8 24 -27.9 47
40. Georgia 17.2 26.4 31 -10.2 41
41. Wisconsin 16.0 22.1 35 1.3 31
42. Illinois 14.2 21.1 37 -4.2 35
43. Kansas 5.2 23.1 34 -46.1 48
44. Michigan 4.3 6.8 43 -7.2 37
45. New Jersey 3.9 -11.2 48 44.9 17
46. Indiana 2.7 4.9 45 -6.0 36
47. Ohio 0.7 7.8 42 -22.1 46
48. Rhode Island -2.5 -15.7 50 85.0 10
49. Maryland -9.8 -14.2 49 11.5 30
50. Colorado -15.0 5.3 44 -64.1 50
US total 28.9 33.3   15.6  

* Statistics are based on the responses of local permit officials to mail surveys conducted by the Census Bureau. Figures do not include construction outside of incorporated areas with permit requirements. (Such activity accounts for less than 3 percent of all construction nationally and is nonexistent in Massachusetts.)
** Includes most townhouses and all attached units that are “separated from the adjacent units by a ground-to-roof wall” and that have independent heating and plumbing systems.

Source: US Census Bureau (www.census.gov). Note: Figures are rounded up to one decimal place, and there are no ties in the rankings.