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Permit-issuing place

Pierce County Unincorporated Area

Pierce County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Washington

Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Pierce County index 1975–2025
FHFA house price index for Pierce County, which contains Pierce County Unincorporated Area, 1975 to 2025Recession 1973–75Recession 1980Recession 1981–82Recession 1990–91Recession 2001Recession 2007–09Recession 202005001,0001,5002,00019801990200020102020United States2025: 1,744
Pierce County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Pierce 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.

Pierce County Unincorporated Area, Washington (Pierce County), authorised 2,883 housing units through building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, +56.2% on the previous 12 months.

1,299 of those units were single-family houses (45%), 32 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 1,552 in buildings of five or more units.

Since 1995 the place has authorised 75,967 units, with the busiest year 1998 (3,834 units). Pierce County's FHFA house price index rose +132.4% over the ten years to 2025.

2,883units permitted, 12 months to August 2026+56.2% on the previous 12 months
1,299single-family units45% of the total
1,552units in 5+ unit buildings54% of the total
—units per 1,000 residentsPierce County 5.6 · Washington 4.9

Permits by month and structure type

Housing units authorised in Pierce County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 months05001,000Sep 2024: 139 units (119 single-family, 20 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2024Oct 2024: 135 units (118 single-family, 17 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2024: 165 units (129 single-family, 36 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024: 110 units (83 single-family, 27 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024Jan 2025: 221 units (169 single-family, 52 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2025: 244 units (120 single-family, 124 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025: 157 units (155 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025Apr 2025: 197 units (133 single-family, 64 in multi-unit buildings)May 2025: 123 units (106 single-family, 17 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025: 87 units (68 single-family, 19 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025Jul 2025: 164 units (153 single-family, 11 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2025: 104 units (98 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025: 66 units (64 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025Oct 2025: 100 units (93 single-family, 7 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2025: 88 units (86 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025: 90 units (86 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025Jan 2026: 507 units (117 single-family, 390 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2026: 106 units (106 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026: 204 units (120 single-family, 84 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026Apr 2026: 788 units (140 single-family, 648 in multi-unit buildings)May 2026: 358 units (148 single-family, 210 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026: 341 units (144 single-family, 197 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026Jul 2026: 130 units (94 single-family, 36 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2026: 105 units (101 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)

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

Units, 12 months to August 2026Pierce County Unincorporated AreaPierce CountyWashingtonUnited States
All housing units2,8835,33938,9111,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)1,299 (45%)1,716 (32%)17,298 (44%)888,241 (63%)
2 units61121,29434,814
3–4 units2610061817,298
5 or more units1,552 (54%)3,411 (64%)19,701 (51%)477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents—5.64.94.1
Change on previous 12 months+56.2%+34.3%+11.4%−0.1%

Permits by year since 1995

Housing units authorised in Pierce County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–202502,0004,0001995: 3,375 units (2,264 single-family, 1,111 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 3,078 units (2,619 single-family, 459 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 3,490 units (2,848 single-family, 642 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 3,834 units (3,108 single-family, 726 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 3,604 units (3,151 single-family, 453 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 3,111 units (2,642 single-family, 469 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 3,143 units (2,709 single-family, 434 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 3,349 units (3,112 single-family, 237 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 3,484 units (3,168 single-family, 316 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 3,154 units (2,797 single-family, 357 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 3,813 units (3,442 single-family, 371 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 3,126 units (2,711 single-family, 415 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 2,517 units (2,124 single-family, 393 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 1,311 units (1,085 single-family, 226 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 938 units (783 single-family, 155 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 1,265 units (1,191 single-family, 74 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 1,130 units (960 single-family, 170 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 1,382 units (1,353 single-family, 29 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 1,717 units (1,491 single-family, 226 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 1,478 units (1,424 single-family, 54 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 1,535 units (1,472 single-family, 63 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 2,356 units (1,598 single-family, 758 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 2,578 units (1,877 single-family, 701 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 2,494 units (1,583 single-family, 911 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 1,863 units (1,681 single-family, 182 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 2,885 units (1,697 single-family, 1,188 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 2,641 units (2,278 single-family, 363 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 1,862 units (1,707 single-family, 155 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 2,107 units (1,426 single-family, 681 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 1,706 units (1,388 single-family, 318 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 1,641 units (1,331 single-family, 310 in multi-unit buildings)2025

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

75,967 units since 1995; the busiest year was 1998. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.

Home prices in Pierce County

FHFA's index for Pierce County rose +132.4% over the ten years to 2025 (+8.8% a year) and +2.9% in the latest year, against +113.0% and +1.8% for Washington. 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 Pierce County Unincorporated Area, WA?

2,883 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 1,846 in the previous 12 months.

What kind of housing is being permitted in Pierce County Unincorporated Area?

1,299 single-family units, 6 in two-unit buildings, 26 in three- and four-unit buildings and 1,552 in buildings of five or more units.

How does Pierce County Unincorporated Area compare with its county and state?

No population estimate is attached to this permit-issuing area, so a per-resident rate is not shown; Pierce County runs at 5.6 units per 1,000 residents and Washington at 4.9.

How have home prices moved in Pierce County?

FHFA's index for Pierce County rose +132.4% over the ten years to 2025 and +2.9% 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 415000); 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.