Building Permits (USD)

Number of new residential construction permits authorized, a leading indicator of future housing activity and economic growth.

Latest reading: 1208.0 Thousands (SAAR) · Last updated: · Source: FRED (BEA/BLS/Fed)

Category: Economy

API Endpoint

/api/v1/announcements/usd/building_permits

About Building Permits (USD)

Building permits for United States measures the number of residential and commercial construction permits issued in the reference period. It is a leading indicator for housing starts by 1–3 months.

Why FX traders watch it

Because permits must be obtained before construction begins, the permits data gives advance warning of the future pipeline of housing activity. It is tracked alongside starts to assess the trajectory of the construction cycle.

How to interpret the data

Rising permits above consensus signals an expanding construction pipeline, which is economically stimulative and usd-positive. Falling permits suggest tightening credit conditions or declining confidence in the housing market.

Historical Building Permits (USD)

Source: FRED (BEA/BLS/Fed)  ·  Monthly  ·  Thousands (SAAR)

Data provided by FXMacroData via the /api/v1/announcements/usd/building_permits endpoint. For access, see pricing.

Data Source

Primary Source

FRED (BEA/BLS/Fed)

Official Series ID

PERMIT

Data Format and Properties

Data Frequency

Monthly

Unit of Measure

Thousands (SAAR)

JSON Response Structure

The endpoint returns a chronological list of observations in JSON format.

{
    "currency": "USD",
    "indicator": "building_permits",
    "has_official_forecast": false,
    "start_date": "2023-01-01",
    "end_date": "2023-12-31",
    "data": [
        {
            "date": "2024-07-01",
            "val": 4.2,
            "announcement_datetime": 1722456000
        }
    ]
}

Request Parameters & Usage

Parameter Required Format Description
start_date NO YYYY-MM-DD Optional lower bound for the requested history.
end_date NO YYYY-MM-DD Optional upper bound. Defaults to the current date.
api_key CONDITIONAL string Required for non-USD announcement requests. USD announcement requests are public without an API key.

Example Usage

To retrieve Building Permits data for USD from 2023:

GET https://fxmacrodata.com/api/v1/announcements/usd/building_permits?start_date=2023-01-01&end_date=2023-12-31

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is United States Building Permits updated?
Building Permits for United States is released on a monthly schedule by Federal Reserve (or the relevant national statistics agency). FXMacroData ingests each new value within seconds of the official publication and exposes the exact announcement timestamp on every record.
What unit is Building Permits reported in?
The series is published in Thousands (SAAR). The exact unit is also returned on every API response under the indicator metadata.
Where does FXMacroData source United States Building Permits data?
Data is fetched directly from Federal Reserve or the official national statistics publication for United States. The source URL is preserved on every announcement record so downstream consumers can trace the value back to its primary release.
How do I query Building Permits for United States via the API?
Issue a GET request to /api/v1/announcements/usd/building_permits?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY. The response contains a chronological list of observations with values, release dates, and announcement timestamps. USD announcement data is public; other currencies require a Professional API key.