Single-family home permits issued in 2025 were at the lowest level in nine years, according to the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
NEFBA reports monthly permit numbers for Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The association said Jan. 12 the year ended with 8,828 permits, 29.7% lower than the 12,551 permits issued in 2024 and the lowest since 7,906 in 2016.
In December, 649 permits were issued, down 23% from 843 issued the year before.
No month in 2025 topped 1,000 permits. The highest was 930 in January.
In 2024, the region exceeded 1,000 permits for seven months with May being the highest with 1,354. By comparison, May 2025 recorded 874 permits.
NEFBA officials cited economic uncertainty, land costs, labor costs and tariffs for the drop. Affordability difficulty was also an issue.
“Permits are directly affected by a lot of the larger national and regional builders in town,” said Seth Kelley, 2025 NEFBA president.
“They drive the volumes. If you were to combine all of the small custom builders, smaller builders in general, they end up contributing, in my best estimates, probably about 20% to 25% of the total permit number. The production guys lost confidence in the market because they were beginning to see their sales volumes drop.”
The number of permits issued in 2025 was lower year-over-year all four quarters. The second quarter had the biggest drop, down 36.5%.
Year-over-year, Clay County suffered the greatest drop, falling 42%. St. Johns fell 31%, Duval 28% and Nassau 8%.