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State, one year

Massachusetts in 2016

Index change and building permits for the year, with every county.

In 2016 the FHFA house price index for Massachusetts changed +4.9%, against +5.3% for the United States and +3.6% in 2015.

16,288 housing units were authorised by building permits in the state that year (7,641 single-family), −6.5% on 2015; the national total was 1,206,642.

+4.9%Massachusetts index, 2015–2016US +5.3%
16,288housing units permitted in 20167,641 single-family
14 of 14counties with a rising indexmedian county +4.8%
1,206,642units permitted nationally in 2016
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Counties in 2016

Ranked by the county index change from 2015 to 2016 (FHFA annual county index). Permits are units authorised in 2016; per 1,000 uses the vintage 2025 population.

CountyIndex change 2016Units permittedSingle-familyPer 1,000
Suffolk County+9.1%3,439664.3
Nantucket County+8.8%20015013.6
Dukes County+7.8%1211175.7
Middlesex County+5.5%4,3361,6682.6
Norfolk County+5.5%1,7438182.4
Essex County+5.4%1,0657161.3
Plymouth County+5.0%1,2199982.2
Bristol County+4.8%1,3387432.3
Worcester County+4.0%1,4921,1941.7
Barnstable County+3.4%5054952.2
Hampshire County+1.8%2572401.6
Hampden County+1.6%3282950.7
Franklin County+1.4%54460.8
Berkshire County+1.1%191951.5

Permits by year, 1995–2025

Housing units authorised in Massachusetts by year010,00020,00030,0001995: 16,428 units (14,449 single-family, 1,979 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 17,261 units (15,077 single-family, 2,184 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 17,186 units (15,152 single-family, 2,034 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 19,254 units (16,303 single-family, 2,951 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 18,967 units (15,457 single-family, 3,510 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 18,000 units (14,199 single-family, 3,801 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 17,034 units (13,030 single-family, 4,004 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 17,465 units (13,636 single-family, 3,829 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 20,257 units (13,037 single-family, 7,220 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 22,477 units (14,842 single-family, 7,635 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 24,549 units (14,585 single-family, 9,964 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 19,580 units (10,916 single-family, 8,664 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 15,358 units (8,928 single-family, 6,430 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 9,883 units (5,368 single-family, 4,515 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 7,941 units (5,074 single-family, 2,867 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 9,075 units (5,839 single-family, 3,236 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 7,725 units (4,899 single-family, 2,826 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 11,111 units (5,920 single-family, 5,191 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 14,569 units (7,100 single-family, 7,469 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 14,486 units (7,330 single-family, 7,156 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 17,424 units (6,922 single-family, 10,502 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 16,288 units (7,641 single-family, 8,647 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 17,728 units (7,278 single-family, 10,450 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 17,044 units (7,169 single-family, 9,875 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 17,365 units (6,292 single-family, 11,073 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 17,025 units (6,754 single-family, 10,271 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 19,853 units (7,231 single-family, 12,622 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 16,830 units (6,232 single-family, 10,598 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 13,214 units (5,075 single-family, 8,139 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 14,338 units (5,626 single-family, 8,712 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 12,477 units (5,018 single-family, 7,459 in multi-unit buildings)2025

Housing units authorised in Massachusetts by yearsingle-family2+ unit buildings

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency annual state and county house price indexes (updated March 31, 2026); Census Bureau Building Permits Survey annual state and county files. Public domain. Methodology.