California multifamily permits jump 33% this year

Are all the efforts to boost homebuilding in California finally paying off?

To check, my trusty spreadsheet eyeballed building permit data from the Census Bureau. These stats estimate plans for new multifamily housing, a segment of construction that primarily consists of apartment complexes.

In the first eight months of 2026, permits for 36,600 multifamily housing units were granted statewide. That’s a 33% gain in a year and, more noteworthy perhaps, the third-best start to a year since 1990.

And if you look at it long-term, you see that this year’s multifamily permitting pace is 12% faster than the 10-year average.

Plus, the 502,500 permits issued in the past decade represent a 48% improvement over permitting in the previous 10 years, an era scarred by the Great Recession.

It may not be enough construction to solve California’s affordability headaches, but the increased permitting is clearly movement in the right direction.

Just so you know, California developers of single-family housing have been even more active, with 595,113 permits since 2016, up 60% vs. the previous 10 years.

Southern charms

Much of the California boost can be tied to the metro area covering Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In the first eight months of the year, 16,643 permits for multifamily units were filed in the two counties. That’s 82% higher than the same period a year earlier and the second-best start to a year since 1990.

Plus, it’s 32% above L.A.-Orange County’s pace over the past 10 years.

Cooler elsewhere

California’s multifamily construction surge contrasts with the national picture.

Years of rapid apartment development haven’t produced enough renters to fill the new units in many parts of the nation. So building has chilled.

Outside of California, 310,400 permits were filed to start in 2026 – up only 2% from the previous year. And this year’s pace is 4% slower than the 10-year average.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]