Overview

The Building Permits and Value data series contains building permit statistics on new privately-owned residential construction. The series is consists of three data items: 

• Buildings
• Housing Units
• Cost

Definitions

Housing Units  A housing unit is defined as a house, apartment, a group of rooms or a single room intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are defined as quarters in which  the occupants live separately from any other individuals. Consequently, each apartment unit in an apartment building is counted as one housing unit.

Buildings Number of buildings

Cost The valuation of the building as reported on the building permit.

Data Sources

The information provided in the series is based upon reports submitted by local building permit officials in response to a mail survey.

Geographic Coverage

Most of the permit-issuing jurisdictions in Oklahoma are municipalities; the remainder are counties, or unincorporated towns. For the municipalities, and towns, the area subject to building permit requirements to which the figures pertain is normally that of the governmental jurisdictions. The data has also been aggregated to the county level.

Data Limitations

The portion of total construction measurable from building permit records is limited since building permit records do not reflect construction activity outside of areas subject to permit requirements.

Building permit statistics are also influenced by at least two other factors. First, some building permit jurisdictions in Oklahoma close their books a few days prior to the end of the reporting period so that the time reference for permits is not, in all cases, strictly the calendar month/year.

Secondly, a portion of the single-family houses built in permit-issuing places are built without a permit - some studies place this figure at 3 percent nation wide. 

Contacts

For additional information about the Residential Building Permits Series contact:

John McCraw
Assistant Director
Center for Economic and Management Research
Michael F. price College of Business
The University of Oklahoma
307 W. Brooks
Norman, Oklahoma 73019
mailto:jmccraw@ou.edu