Permit Statistics

City of Sioux Falls Planning and Development Services
2020 Year-End Building Permits Report

January 11, 2021

Welcome to the Building Services year-end statistics for the City of Sioux Falls.
The following are permit statistics for 2020 and how it compares to previous years. The past year has been a very interesting and challenging year to say the least, and the statistics will show that the City of Sioux Falls has weathered the year very well.

 

Butch Warrington
Chief Building Official

Permits Issued

There were 7,222 building permits issued in Sioux Falls in 2020. The total number of building permits has been reduced significantly since 2014 and 2015 when a severe hail storm hit 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 decreased by 133 in 2020, which is a 1.81 percent decrease from 2019 however, it is an increase of 349 permits and a 5.08 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, as well as additions, repairs, remodels, and renovations built within Sioux Falls.

The construction valuation in 2020 totaled $919,602,112, a new record for Sioux Falls. Considering the challenges faced in 2020, this speaks volumes for the City of Sioux Falls.

• 19.2 percent increase from 2019 ($771,507,597)
• 16.9 percent increase from 2018 ($786,599,655)
• 24.4 percent increase from 2017 ($739,324,818)

Residential

Single Family Dwellings

There were 742 new single family dwellings permitted in 2020. This is an increase of 107 new single family dwellings compared to 2019. 

• 16.9 percent increase from 2019 (635 single family dwellings)
• 10.4 percent increase from 2018 (672 single family dwellings)
• 1.1 percent decrease from 2017 (750 single family dwellings

The number of new single family dwellings remains steady since the Great Recession, and 2020 represents the second-best year for home construction during the past decade. But Sioux Falls has not returned to its record highs seen during 2003–2005, when an average 1,043 single family dwellings were built a year. 

The number of single family dwellings increased in 2020 by 107 compared to 2019. In addition, the dollar value increased for these homes to $174,468,796. That’s an increase of 15.92 percent in comparison to 2019, and equates to an average dollar value per home of $235,133.15. The average square footage of homes this year was 1,448 square feet, which is a decrease from 2019 which had an average of 1,500 square feet. 

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 2020, Sioux Falls had 392 permits issued for town house dwelling units. This is an uptick to the previous year, but falls short of 2017’s record number. 

The statistics show a leveling off in comparison to the previous years:

• 7.99 percent increase from 2019 (363 units issued)
• 2.73 percent decrease from 2018 (403 units issued)
• 11.11 percent decrease from 2017 (441 units issued)

Multifamily

Multifamily housing includes non-transient housing such as apartments, independent living centers, congregate living facilities, and condominiums. The number of permits issued for this type of residential unit was significantly up in 2020 (1,571), an increase of 144.32 percent compared to the 643 new permits issued in 2019.

The statistics show that 2020 saw a construction boom after 3 years of declining apartment numbers:

• 66.24 percent increase from 2018 (945 units issued)
• 29.30 percent increase from 2017 (1,215 units issued)
• 1.13 percent decrease from 2016, a record year (1,589 units issued)

The following are the top 10 apartment building projects in value for 2020:

Cumulative Number of Dwelling Units

The cumulative number of dwelling units consists of single family dwellings, duplexes, town houses, and multifamily dwellings.

The total for 2020 was 2,717 dwelling units, and represents a record year. This is astounding considering the challenges faced this year with COVID-19.

• The graph illustrates the normal cycle of strong building followed by a period of absorption:
• 65.47 percent increase from 2019 (1,642 total dwelling units constructed)
• 34.37 percent increase from 2018 (2,022 total dwelling units constructed)
• 12.74 percent increase from 2017 (2,410 total dwelling units constructed)

Commercial

There were 137 building permits issued for new commercial buildings, which consisted of 69 new apartment buildings and 68 building permits issued for all other new commercial buildings. The total construction valuation for new commercial buildings in 2020 was $488.4 million which was an increase from 2019 which was $332.5 million.  

Last year’s commercial construction in Sioux Falls included: 

• $233.7 million for manufacturing
• $169.7 million for apartments
• $46.8 million for office, educational, and institutional occupancies
• $38.2 million for all other commercial buildings (e.g. strip malls, hotels and restaurants)

The total construction valuation for commercial additions, renovations, and remodels in 2020 was $118.8 million which is a decrease compared to previous years:

• 25.19 percent decrease from 2019 (158.8 million)
• 43.80 percent decrease from 2018 ($211.4 million)
• 39.42 percent decrease from 2017 ($196.1 million)

There were 77 commercial projects including apartments permitted in 2020 with a construction valuation of $1,000,000 or more, with 11 projects exceeding $10 million and 3 projects with a construction valuation of $20 million or more. The following are the top 15 projects in value for 2020: