Austin Permit Report: October 2026, Urban Infill

Permit snapshot

What got permitted

Detached houses carried 140 of October’s 188 infill homes.

Over twelve months infill homes are up 2%, and the missing middle was 19% of them, down from 24% the year before. Homes, not permits.

Pipeline

11,098 homes permitted since January 2025 haven’t been finished yet.

That’s the supply still coming: 85% of the 13,086 homes permitted in that time. 79% are in apartment buildings (5+ homes), and five ZIPs hold 49% of them, led by 78702 (1,643) and 78758 (1,427). Most permits get built: 94% of homes permitted 2016–22 were finished.

Teardowns

Five ZIP codes had 64% of Austin’s 452 home teardowns in the last twelve months.

Private whole-house demolitions inside the City of Austin full-purpose limits, one per lot per year: 23 ZIPs in all (460 teardowns Nov 2024 – Oct 2025).

Permit issue time

A single-family permit takes a median 60 days to issue.

Median days from application to issue, permits issued Nov 2025 – Oct 2026. The last column removes the slowest 10% to account for stalled applications. *36% of multifamily & mixed use permits were applied for more than three years earlier, so that figure mostly reflects a backlog clearing.

Where

Five ZIP codes carried 47% of October’s infill homes.

Fastest riser: 78754, from 0 to 49 infill homes in Aug–Oct 2026 against a year earlier. Only permits inside the City of Austin full-purpose limits are counted, so ZIPs that straddle the city line show the city’s part only.

Who’s building

Milestone Community Builders, LLC led with 69 homes in the last six months.

Infill homes permitted May – October 2026, out of 925. The permit holder is usually the general contractor rather than the developer, and one firm can appear under several names. 107 homes on 106 permits (12%) name no holder and are not ranked.