CT single-family house construction falls in 2022 despite permit surge. See town by town numbers

The number of construction permits issued for new houses and apartments in Connecticut surged nearly 30% in 2022 on a year-over-year basis, according to a new report Monday, with rentals driving the increase.

But the construction of much-needed, single-family houses continued to struggle, falling nearly 25%, according to the report released by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Builders in Connecticut face a dearth of building lots, tough zoning regulations and a shortage of carpenters, electricians and plumbers.

In 2022, the total number of permits issued by the state’s towns and cities rose to 6,496, compared with 5,040 in the previous year, according to the data collected by DECD.

Larger apartment projects of 5 or more rentals led the way with 3,935 units approved for permits in 2022, more than double the 1,885 the previous year.

Single-family houses followed with 2,192 dwellings backed by the state’s 169 municipalities, down from 2,881 in 2021, the report showed.

All other categories, including duplexes and buildings with 3 and 4 units, totaled 369, up 34% from 274 in the previous year.

Eric Person, chief executive of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Central Connecticut, said there remains a chronic need for more more single-family houses, but the overall positive increase is an encouraging one.

DECD changed how it collected housing data for last year. DECD gathered the data itself, rather than relying on the U.S. Census, which uses a different method. DECD also revised the housing data back to 2018.

So, the totals for years prior to 2018 can’t be accurately compared to how DECD is now collecting the permit data.

There shortage of single-family houses in Connecticut was touched off by sales that soared in the early weeks of pandemic, as buyers sought to flee urban areas and meet needs for more space to work at home.

The overall building levels indicated by the report Monday are still far below the 10,000 houses and apartments built in the years of the mid-2000s, the last major building boom in Connecticut.

Approved permits differ from housing starts, which track the actual start of construction. Permits are the step right before and may or may not result in actual construction. However, permits are a well-watched barometer of building in Connecticut.

Construction that result from permits also does not necessarily mean a net gain of dwellings. In 2022, there were 1,514 permits issued for demolitions for an actual gain of 4,982 dwellings.

Person said the industry would like to see 4,000 to 5,000 single-family houses built annually, about double the construction registered in 2022.

In addition to land availability, “the challenge is finding the labor to build those houses,” Person said. “We have a lot of members that cannot find people that either want to work or can work in construction.”

Across the state’s eight counties, Fairfield County saw the highest overall housing construction, with 2,332 permits in 2022, compared with 1,360 in 2021. Hartford County saw a total of 1,642, compared with 879 in 2021.

Fairfield County also led the way in single-family house building at 544 dwellings, but down from 693 in 2021. Hartford County logged 408 permits for single-family houses last year, compared with 586 in 2021.

Kenneth R, Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.