Houston house and duplex permit patterns in 2026

LotCodex analysis · Published September 15, 2026 · Permit dates January 5–September 13, 2026

Research archiveDownload the underlying recordsCompare July and August

Which Houston ZIP codes appear most often in the city’s house and duplex permit descriptions? We reviewed 36 weekly reports and counted matching addresses across the full imported records.

Where matching residential addresses cluster

ZIP 77048 has the most matching addresses in these reports (412), followed by 77091 (358) and 77018 (284). This ranks source descriptions, not completed homes, sales inventory or construction starts.

What a builder can learn from this

Use the ZIP ranking to choose where to investigate overlapping projects. Then read the descriptions and dates, compare the kind of work with your own proposal, and verify current activity with the city. A high count alone does not tell you whether a competing home will finish near yours, match your price range or be offered for sale.

1. Start with a ZIP in the table below.
2. Use our selected address directory for examples, or the city’s official reports and permit search for broader research.
3. Keep the project number and source date with your notes. Several records or addresses can refer to related work.
4. Confirm status separately before using a project in a competition analysis.

Monthly records in the imported reports

January starts on the 5th and September ends on the 13th. Those two rows cover partial months and should not be compared with full months as growth rates.

An address can appear in more than one month. Monthly address counts therefore must not be added to obtain the period total.

All ZIP codes with matching residential descriptions

Download the ZIP table (CSV) · Download counts and source manifest (JSON)

Method and limits

We parsed all six published fields from 36 archived City of Houston weekly sold-permit reports. Removing 22 exact duplicate rows left 14,673 rows, 14,671 project numbers and 13,596 address-and-ZIP combinations across all work types.

The residential filter selects Building Pmt rows whose descriptions match 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. It finds 3,793 rows under 3,793 project numbers at 3,792 distinct addresses. Some house descriptions omit “new”; this is a reproducible description filter, not an official city classification of new homes.

Addresses are grouped by exact address plus ZIP after standardizing letter case and whitespace. Unit and suite text remain separate. We do not infer parcels, builders, owners or dwelling counts. The source covers City of Houston reports, not the whole metropolitan area or every Harris County jurisdiction. Missing or differently described work can be omitted by this filter.

This analysis uses the full imported report collection, independently of the 300 addresses selected for our pilot directory. The counts are frozen to the September 15 source check, so later changes to the directory do not silently revise this report.

Use the chart in your own post or presentation

Download the chart, summary and data for a builder meeting, neighborhood discussion or article. Keep the date range and description-filter note with the figures so readers know what is being counted.

Chart image (PNG) · Vector chart (SVG) · Short summary · Download the full sharing kit

You may reuse these LotCodex aggregate charts and summaries. A source link is appreciated and helps readers check the method; it is optional.

Suggested credit: LotCodex analysis of City of Houston weekly sold-permit reports, January 5–September 13, 2026. Full counting method and source reports.

Sources and reuse

Source: Houston Permitting Center sold-permit reports. The downloadable manifest lists each source URL and archive checksum. You may reuse our aggregate tables and chart; a link to this report helps readers check the method.