When you see data on the U.S. housing markets with the most building permit activity, it’s easy to be dazzled by the huge numbers the largest metros log and overlook some busy housing markets in smaller metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The Housing Hotness Index offers a method of judging the building activity in MSAs of all sizes by factoring in the number of total building permits (single-family and multi-family) pulled per 1,000 residents. It’s a measure popularized in recent years by Builder magazine.
The chart below shows that some relatively small MSAs actually have a higher level of homebuilding activity than most of the nation’s largest metros when population is factored in. It’s interesting to see how many of the markets on this list are either in retirement/vacation areas, like Wilmington, N.C.; Naples-Immokallee-Marco Island, Fla.; and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.; or in energy areas, like Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, N.D.; Greeley, Colo.; and Midland, Texas. The only two large metros making this list are Houston and Raleigh, N.C.