Tampa among hottest housing markets in US for new building permits, sales

After years of intense demand, Tampa now ranks as one of the top metro areas in the nation for building a new home, according to a new report.  

The report, from ConsumerAffairs, ranks Tampa No. 11 out of 150 of the largest U.S. cities in the nation for both buying and selling newly built homes. 

The consumer news and advocacy organization analyzed new building permits and new construction home sales, through U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow data, across 150 of the largest U.S. cities from January and February.  

That study found Tampa issued 3,031 new building permits for homes in those two months and recorded 1,193 new-construction home sales during the same time frame. 

The findings are a “sign that this isn’t just a building boom; it’s a market where people actually want to live,” ConsumerAffairs digital PR strategist Jailyn Rodriguez says in an email to the Business Observer answering questions about the report.  

Outside Tampa, Orlando (No. 15), North Port ( No. 17) and Cape Coral (No. 18) all ranked near the top of the list for new construction home sales, suggesting the state consistently produces conditions where new housing can thrive, Rodriguez says. 

Eight of the top 10 cities leading in new home construction, meanwhile, are located in the Sun Belt area of the U.S., and seven of the top 10 are in the South.

Texas dominated the rankings, with Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio all landing in the top 10. Dallas leads the nation in new home activity, with 11,327 permitted housing units and 3,009 new-home sales in the first two months of 2026. 

New York City issued the most building permits in early 2026, but ranked No. 26 for new construction sales. At the other end of the spectrum, Youngstown, Ohio, ranked last with just 24 permitted housing units and five new home sales at the start of the year, the report found. 

Nationally, new home permitting has more than doubled since 2010, peaking at more than 1.7 million housing units authorized in 2021, the study found. Last year, more than 1.4 million residential building permits were issued in the U.S., compared to about 605,000 in 2010.