Denver is building as housing costs skyrocket

Denver cracks the top 15 markets nationally when it comes to building new homes, per the latest analysis by real estate company Redfin.

What they found: Denver had 13.2 single-family building permits per 10,000 people in the first quarter of 2022.

Why it matters: As the number of homes for sale remains near all-time lows and monthly mortgage payments are near a record high, building more housing is one way to ease the affordability crisis.

Zoom out: Single-family and multifamily building permits are up since before the pandemic in most U.S. metros, Redfin found.

• Of note: The full-service real estate brokerage defines "single-family" as buildings with one to four housing units, and "multifamily" as those with five or more units.

Yes, but: "There still aren't enough homes to meet the pace of household creation, and we need to be more prepared when demand inevitably picks back up," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said.

The bottom line: Ramping up new home construction will help move the market toward balance, if only a little.