Permit Statistics

City of Sioux Falls Planning and Development Services
2019 Year-End Building Permits Report

January 10, 2020

Permits Issued

There were 7,355 building permits issued for Sioux Falls in 2019. The total number of building permits has been reduced significantly from the 2014 and 2015 levels when a severe hail storm hit the city of Sioux Falls. The 2014 hail storm resulted in the issuance of 8,500 reshingle permits in 2014 and 5,800 reshingle permits in 2015. The number of permits issued increased by 520 in 2019, which is a 7.61 percent increase from 2018. 

Total Construction Valuation

Total construction valuation is defined as the quoted or calculated construction valuation for all commercial and residential new buildings, additions, repairs, remodels, and renovations built within the city of Sioux Falls. The construction valuation in 2019 totaled $771,507,597.

When compared to previous years, the total valuation amount is slightly lower than 2018’s record year but still above the amounts set in 2016 and 2017:

• -1.92 percent from 2018 ($786,599,655)
• +4.35 percent from 2017 ($739,324,818)
• +9.92 percent from 2016 ($701,851,489)

Residential

Single Family Dwellings

There were 635 new single family dwellings permitted in 2019, which is a decrease when compared to 2018:

• -5.83 percent from 2018 (672 single family dwellings)
• -18.11 percent from 2017 (750 single family dwellings)
• -9.45 percent from 2016 (695 single family dwellings)

The number of new single family dwellings appears to be leveling out. The current rate of home construction is in excess of those numbers in the recession years of 2008 through 2011. However, the 2019 permit data falls short of the most robust years 2000 to 2007, which averaged 974 dwelling units per year for the homebuilding industry in the city of Sioux Falls.

The number of single family dwellings decreased in 2019 by 38, but the dollar value for those single family dwellings was only $1,159,940 less than the dollar value of 2018.  

Town Houses

Town houses are defined as owner-occupied, single family dwellings in which each unit extends from the foundation to the roof and has a yard or public space on at least two sides. In 2019, Sioux Falls had 363 permits issued for town house dwelling units.

The statistics show a decreasing trend this past year in comparison to previous years:

• -9.93 percent from 2018 (403 town house dwelling units issued)
• -17.69 percent from 2017 (441 town house dwelling units issued)
• +2.25 percent from 2016 (355 town house dwelling units issued)

Multifamily

Multifamily housing includes non-transient housing such as apartments, independent living centers, congregate living facilities, etc. The number of multifamily dwelling units (apartments) was down in 2019 to 643 new dwelling units, a decrease of 31.96 percent compared to 945 new dwelling units issued in 2018.

The statistics show a decreasing trend this past year in comparison to previous years:

• -47.08 percent from 2017 (1,215 multifamily dwelling units issued)
• -59.53 percent from 2016, a record year (1,589 multifamily dwelling units issued)
• -20.02 percent from 2015 (804 multifamily dwelling units permitted)

However, the prior six years had seen very strong numbers of new multifamily dwelling units permitted and constructed for the city of Sioux Falls compared to the years before that. 

The following are the top 10 apartment building projects in value for 2019:

Cumulative Number of Dwelling Units

The cumulative number of dwelling units consists of single family dwellings, duplexes, town houses, and apartments. The total for 2019 was 1,642 dwelling units.

When compared to previous years, 2019 saw a reduction in construction permits near to 2015 levels:

• -18.79 percent from 2018 (2,022 dwelling units constructed)
• -31.87 percent from 2017 (2,410 dwelling units constructed)
• -37.97 percent from 2016, a record year (2,647 dwelling units constructed)
• -5.52 percent from 2015 (1,738 dwelling units constructed)

Commercial

In 2019, there were 96 building permits issued for new commercial buildings, which consisted of 30 new apartment buildings and 66 building permits issued for all other new commercial buildings. The total construction valuation for new commercial buildings in 2019 was $332.5 million and $268.9 million in 2017.

Last year’s commercial construction citywide included the following:

• $65.6 million for apartments
• $131.8 million for office, educational, and institutional occupancies
• $122.7 million for all other commercial buildings (e.g. strip malls, hotels and restaurants)

The total construction valuation for commercial additions, renovations, and remodels in 2019 was $158.8 million, a decrease compared to previous years:

• -24.88 percent decrease from 2018 ($211.4 million)
• -19.02 percent decrease from 2017 ($196.1 million)
• +3.39 percent increase from 2016 ($153.6 million)

There were 81 commercial projects including apartments permitted in 2019 with a construction valuation of $1,000,000 or more, with 9 projects exceeding $10 million and 4 projects with a construction valuation of $20 million or more. The following are the top 15 projects in value for 2019: