A housing permit is an authorization recorded in a particular reporting system. It does not establish that construction has started, a home is complete or a unit is available to occupy. Before using permit counts to explain local housing supply, identify exactly what was counted and which later steps remain unmeasured.
What does the permit survey count?
The Census Building Permits Survey reports housing units authorized, which is different from counting permit documents or buildings. A single development can involve multiple units, and the published series can include estimates for places that did not report directly. The local table below uses the latest full-year figures in the site's data. Read the year and methodology before calling every unit a locally filed record or comparing a partial year with a full one.
Why is authorization different from completion?
Projects can proceed on different schedules, change or fail to reach completion within the period being discussed. The permit figure alone does not identify which outcome occurred. To answer questions about a particular project, seek the relevant municipal permit, inspection and occupancy records and distinguish each stage. An advertised development and an authorized unit also do not establish a home currently available for sale or rent. Use the evidence appropriate to the stage you are describing.
How should the count be compared with the housing stock?
The housing-unit totals below come from the 2020 census, while the permit figures describe a later authorization period. Do not simply add them and label the result today's housing stock. Demolitions, conversions, completion timing and other changes would need to be accounted for. The assessment figures provide additional property context, not proof of new construction prices. A responsible comparison identifies the dates and measures separately and states which parts of the supply question the available record cannot answer.
What does the local record show?
These towns provide local context for the decision in this article. The figures describe the published records and survey periods identified below. Compare the same measures across places, then confirm the details of any actual home before using them in a budget or offer.
Local Figures for This Decision
Download CSV, same columns, same definitions
Selected municipalities, shown alphabetically. Definitions below distinguish assessments, administrative benchmarks and survey estimates from current market quotes.
| Town | Permitted Housing Units | 2020 Housing Units | Single-family Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | 22 (2025) | 13,668 | $504,350 |
| Pittsfield | 12 (2025) | 21,738 | $256,500 |
| Springfield | 19 (2025) | 62,782 | $267,900 |
What These Columns Mean
- Town
- Municipality; follow its record below for the full data and address check.
- Permitted Housing Units
- Units authorized in the latest full-year Census Building Permits Survey, including its estimates for nonreporting places. Permits are not completed homes, occupied units or listings.
- 2020 Housing Units
- Housing units counted in the 2020 census, including occupied and vacant units. Units are not buildings and this count does not describe today's homes for sale.
- Single-family Assessment
- Median assessed value of single-family parcels. This is a tax-roll statistic, not an asking price, appraisal or median sale price. Assessment years are identified in the sources.
Cite: RE413. “Local Figures for This Decision.” Updated September 19, 2026. https://www.re413.com/news/building-permits-vs-completed-homes-western-mass/, underlying sources at https://www.re413.com/sources/.
Northampton's town record. Permitted housing units: 22 (2025). 2020 housing units: 13,668. Single-family assessment: $504,350.
Pittsfield's town record. Permitted housing units: 12 (2025). 2020 housing units: 21,738. Single-family assessment: $256,500.
Springfield's town record. Permitted housing units: 19 (2025). 2020 housing units: 62,782. Single-family assessment: $267,900.
What should you check next?
- Identify units, reporting year and any estimation in the permit source before comparing municipalities.
- Use project-specific records to distinguish authorization, construction and occupancy.
- Keep census stock, permits and current listings separate unless a consistent method accounts for the changes between them.
Keep the address, document date and source alongside each answer. If records disagree, identify which period and property each describes before treating the difference as a change. A missing result leaves a question open; it does not establish that a property has no problem or no cost.
Where can you continue the comparison?
Browse all housing guides by subject.
Open the linked town records for the wider context, including sources and dates. Use the property-specific records to narrow a decision, and keep current quotes separate from the historical figures used to explain it here.
Which official guidance supports this article?
- U.S. Census Bureau: Building Permits Survey. Guidance checked 2026-09-05; confirm current requirements for your transaction.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. permitted housing units. Figures through 1980–2025. Checked 2026-08-05.
- U.S. Census Bureau, decennial housing counts. 2020 housing units. Figures through 2020 census. Checked 2026-08-03.
- MassGIS and municipal assessors. single-family assessment. Figures through Northampton: FY2026; Pittsfield: FY2025; Springfield: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-21.
"Figures through" is the period the publisher's data describes; "checked" is only when we last asked. The full sourcing: sources and method.