Houston permit data: downloads and source records
Normalized City of Houston weekly sold-permit records, January 5–September 13, 2026. This frozen release contains 14,673 distinct rows from 36 source reports, with ZIP and monthly tables, report provenance, and a documented house/duplex description filter. Records do not establish dwelling counts, construction starts or sale inventory.
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Snapshot observed September 15, 2026 · Data release published September 16, 2026 · Publisher: LotCodex
Download the dataset
Download all data and documentation (ZIP)
- Normalized permit records (CSV) — all 14,673 distinct rows.
- ZIP totals (CSV) and monthly totals (CSV).
- July–August comparison by ZIP (CSV).
- Source URLs, archive checksums and totals (JSON).
- Full documentation · Reproduction example (Python) · Download checksums.
Files are free to download without an account. This is a frozen release; it does not silently change when newer permit records arrive.
Record fields
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| record_id | Identifier for the six normalized source values. |
| zip | ZIP code as text; not a neighborhood boundary. |
| permit_date | City permit date in YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| permit_type | Permit type from the city report. |
| project_number | City project identifier, stored as text. |
| address | Uppercase source address; unit and suite text are preserved. |
| description | City comments with whitespace normalized. |
| house_description_match | True or false for the documented LotCodex description filter. |
| source_ids | Report IDs separated by a vertical bar; look up their URLs in sources.json. |
Counting method
We parsed six fields from each city report: ZIP, permit date, permit type, project number, address and comments. Removing 22 exact repeated rows from 14,695 parsed rows leaves 14,673 distinct records. Repeated appearances retain all source references. Addresses are grouped by exact normalized address plus ZIP, with unit and suite text kept separate.
The house/duplex filter selects Building Pmt descriptions matching S.F. RES, SINGLE FAMILY RES or DUPLEX RES. It excludes descriptions mentioning solar, pools, spas, fences, repairs, remodeling, roofs, additions, alterations, generators, demolition, patios or foundations. Some matching descriptions omit “new”; this is a description filter, not an official new-home category.
What the data cannot establish
These records do not establish construction starts, completions, dwelling counts, builder identity, ownership or homes offered for sale. The dataset covers the city report collection, not every Houston-area jurisdiction. Differently described or missing work may be excluded.
January starts on the 5th and September ends on the 13th. An address may appear in several months, so monthly address counts must not be added to obtain the period total. July–August comparisons use full calendar months and are not adjusted for seasonality or working days.
The full release is independent of the 300-address pilot directory. The CSV includes many records without a dedicated LotCodex address page.
Trace a record to its source
- Take a report ID from the row’s source_ids field.
- Find that ID in sources.json to obtain the city report URL, retrieval time and archive checksum.
- Open the original report and find the project number, address and description.
Source: Houston Permitting Center sold-permit reports. Our period report lists all 36 source files.
Citation and reuse
Suggested citation: LotCodex (2026). Houston sold-permit records, September 15, 2026 snapshot. lotcodex.com/houston/permit-data.
LotCodex’s contributions to this new normalized dataset and its documentation are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. Credit LotCodex, identify changes and follow the license for adaptations. Credit can be provided in the format appropriate to your publication. We claim no ownership of public facts or underlying city records. Read the scope of the license.
Previously published chart and summary downloads retain their existing reuse permissions.
Release history
September 16, 2026: first normalized data release, based on the September 15 source snapshot. See the research archive for published analyses.