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State, one year

Massachusetts in 2018

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

In 2018 the FHFA house price index for Massachusetts changed +5.3%, against +5.7% for the United States and +5.7% in 2017.

17,044 housing units were authorised by building permits in the state that year (7,169 single-family), −3.9% on 2017; the national total was 1,328,827.

+5.3%Massachusetts index, 2017–2018US +5.7%
17,044housing units permitted in 20187,169 single-family
14 of 14counties with a rising indexmedian county +5.4%
1,328,827units permitted nationally in 2018
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Counties in 2018

Ranked by the county index change from 2017 to 2018 (FHFA annual county index). Permits are units authorised in 2018; per 1,000 uses the vintage 2025 population.

CountyIndex change 2018Units permittedSingle-familyPer 1,000
Dukes County+8.0%1341326.3
Suffolk County+7.4%3,738594.7
Franklin County+7.3%59590.8
Berkshire County+6.8%262872.0
Worcester County+5.6%1,5961,1271.8
Barnstable County+5.5%1,0055184.3
Middlesex County+5.5%4,3091,4522.6
Essex County+5.4%8706081.1
Plymouth County+5.4%1,5651,0872.9
Bristol County+5.3%6696171.1
Norfolk County+5.1%2,0097742.7
Hampden County+4.9%2912700.6
Hampshire County+3.3%3682222.2
Nantucket County+0.3%16915711.5

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.