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Permit-issuing place

Mercer County

Mercer County · Kentucky

Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Mercer County index 1986–2025
FHFA house price index for Mercer County, which contains Mercer County, 1986 to 2025Recession 1990–91Recession 2001Recession 2007–09Recession 2020010020030040050019901995200020052010201520202025United States2025: 478
Mercer County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Mercer County's FHFA index, with the national index rebased to the same start.

Census Bureau notes: building permit figures cover new privately owned housing units authorised by permit-issuing places; permits do not mean the units were started or completed, and places that report less often than monthly are imputed in monthly totals. FHFA notes: The FHFA HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The FHFA HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.

Mercer County, Kentucky (Mercer County), authorised 149 housing units through building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, −3.2% on the previous 12 months.

97 of those units were single-family houses (65%), 20 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 32 in buildings of five or more units.

Since 1995 the place has authorised 2,844 units, with the busiest year 1997 (171 units). Mercer County's FHFA house price index rose +94.7% over the ten years to 2025.

149units permitted, 12 months to August 2026−3.2% on the previous 12 months
97single-family units65% of the total
32units in 5+ unit buildings21% of the total
—units per 1,000 residentsMercer County 6.3 · Kentucky 2.9

Permits by month and structure type

Housing units authorised in Mercer County by month, latest 24 months0204060Sep 2024: 41 units (5 single-family, 36 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2024Oct 2024: 15 units (12 single-family, 3 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2024: 3 units (3 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024: 3 units (3 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024Jan 2025: 4 units (4 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2025: 31 units (7 single-family, 24 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025: 20 units (20 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025Apr 2025: 4 units (4 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)May 2025: 7 units (7 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025: 5 units (5 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025Jul 2025: 8 units (8 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2025: 13 units (9 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025: 8 units (8 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025Oct 2025: 7 units (7 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2025: 2 units (2 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025: 23 units (11 single-family, 12 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025Jan 2026: 22 units (6 single-family, 16 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2026: 24 units (20 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026: 25 units (7 single-family, 18 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026Apr 2026: 14 units (14 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)May 2026: 3 units (3 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026: 6 units (6 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026Jul 2026: 3 units (3 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2026: 12 units (10 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)

Housing units authorised in Mercer County by month, latest 24 monthssingle-family2+ unit buildings

Units, 12 months to August 2026Mercer CountyMercer CountyKentuckyUnited States
All housing units14914913,4101,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)97 (65%)97 (65%)8,580 (64%)888,241 (63%)
2 units202050434,814
3–4 units0031017,298
5 or more units32 (21%)32 (21%)4,016 (30%)477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents—6.32.94.1
Change on previous 12 months−3.2%−3.2%−7.1%−0.1%

Permits by year since 1995

Housing units authorised in Mercer County by year, 1995–202501002001995: 121 units (99 single-family, 22 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 114 units (101 single-family, 13 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 171 units (124 single-family, 47 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 144 units (130 single-family, 14 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 106 units (104 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 117 units (109 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 109 units (93 single-family, 16 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 122 units (96 single-family, 26 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 162 units (134 single-family, 28 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 112 units (108 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 133 units (123 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 82 units (78 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 120 units (90 single-family, 30 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 49 units (39 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 36 units (32 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 42 units (34 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 37 units (29 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 51 units (33 single-family, 18 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 59 units (37 single-family, 22 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 59 units (39 single-family, 20 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 61 units (43 single-family, 18 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 34 units (34 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 46 units (46 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 45 units (45 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 49 units (49 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 74 units (64 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 39 units (35 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 124 units (114 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 146 units (119 single-family, 27 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 148 units (91 single-family, 57 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 132 units (92 single-family, 40 in multi-unit buildings)2025

Housing units authorised in Mercer County by year, 1995–2025single-family2+ unit buildings

2,844 units since 1995; the busiest year was 1997. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.

Home prices in Mercer County

FHFA's index for Mercer County rose +94.7% over the ten years to 2025 (+6.9% a year) and −0.5% in the latest year, against +84.1% and +3.9% for Kentucky. Full county page: decade table, peak-to-low declines, every ZIP code and every permit-issuing place in the county.

Questions and answers

How many homes are being built in Mercer County, KY?

149 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 154 in the previous 12 months.

What kind of housing is being permitted in Mercer County?

97 single-family units, 20 in two-unit buildings, 0 in three- and four-unit buildings and 32 in buildings of five or more units.

How does Mercer County compare with its county and state?

No population estimate is attached to this permit-issuing area, so a per-resident rate is not shown; Mercer County runs at 6.3 units per 1,000 residents and Kentucky at 2.9.

How have home prices moved in Mercer County?

FHFA's index for Mercer County rose +94.7% over the ten years to 2025 and −0.5% in the latest year; the county page has the full series.

What does a permit count?

A housing unit authorised by a building permit for new privately owned residential construction, as reported to the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey by the permit-issuing office. Permits are not completions; some permitted units are never built, and places that report only annually are imputed in monthly figures.

Provenance

Permits: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level monthly and annual files through August 2026 (permit office 347000); county and state comparisons from the county and state files. Population: Census Bureau vintage 2025 estimates for incorporated places, matched on FIPS place code where the permit office is one. House price index: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public domain. Corrections · Building Permits Survey.