Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Cameron County index 1977–2025
Cameron County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Cameron 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.
Brownsville, Texas (Cameron County), authorised 1,072 housing units through building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, +19.1% on the previous 12 months.
687 of those units were single-family houses (64%), 0 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 385 in buildings of five or more units. That is 5.6 units per 1,000 residents, close to the county's 5.4 and close to the state's 6.1.
Since 1995 the place has authorised 31,696 units, with the busiest year 2002 (2,026 units). Cameron County's FHFA house price index rose +81.1% over the ten years to 2025.
1,072units permitted, 12 months to August 2026+19.1% on the previous 12 months
687single-family units64% of the total
385units in 5+ unit buildings36% of the total
5.6units per 1,000 residentsCameron County 5.4 · Texas 6.1
Permits by month and structure type
Housing units authorised in Brownsville by month, latest 24 monthssingle-family2+ unit buildings
Units, 12 months to August 2026
Brownsville
Cameron County
Texas
United States
All housing units
1,072
2,364
194,150
1,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)
687 (64%)
1,659 (70%)
135,575 (70%)
888,241 (63%)
2 units
0
120
5,568
34,814
3–4 units
0
12
1,703
17,298
5 or more units
385 (36%)
573 (24%)
51,304 (26%)
477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents
5.6
5.4
6.1
4.1
Change on previous 12 months
+19.1%
+11.4%
−10.8%
−0.1%
Permits by year since 1995
Housing units authorised in Brownsville by year, 1995–2025single-family2+ unit buildings
31,696 units since 1995; the busiest year was 2002. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.
Home prices in Cameron County
FHFA's index for Cameron County rose +81.1% over the ten years to 2025 (+6.1% a year) and +0.1% in the latest year, against +88.2% and +0.8% for Texas. 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 Brownsville, TX?
1,072 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 900 in the previous 12 months.
What kind of housing is being permitted in Brownsville?
687 single-family units, 0 in two-unit buildings, 0 in three- and four-unit buildings and 385 in buildings of five or more units.
How does Brownsville compare with its county and state?
5.6 units per 1,000 residents in Brownsville, 5.4 in Cameron County and 6.1 in Texas.
How have home prices moved in Cameron County?
FHFA's index for Cameron County rose +81.1% over the ten years to 2025 and +0.1% 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 088000); 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.