NORTH PORT, Fla. — North Port leads the country in permits for multifamily housing units, according to a new report from real estate website Redfin, as the city continues to experience rapid growth.
WATCH: FOX 4's Hunter Walterman speaks with couple who just moved to North Port:
The report analyzed 78 metro areas across the country with populations of at least 750,000 people. North Port topped the list for multifamily unit permits, which include apartments and duplexes.
The city granted permits to build 65 multifamily units for every 10,000 people over the last year, according to Redfin. Cape Coral came in at number two, tied with Austin, Texas.
The city issued 22 multifamily building permits in Fiscal Year 2024, according to a city spokesman. This year, North Port is on pace to double that. The city issued 35 multifamily permits through July.
The surge in development reflects North Port's transformation from a rural area to a growing suburban community. Realtor Brian Helgemo said the city's appeal lies in its strategic location and available land for development.
"The city's a bit younger in it's stature so the land costs are much, much lower," Helgemo said. "So as an opportunist or a developer, it's prime for that."
Unlike other areas in Southwest Florida such as Fort Myers, which have already been heavily developed, North Port still has abundant cheap, available land that makes it attractive to developers, Helgemo said.
North Port is also in a good location, Helegemo said, close to Sarasota and Punta Gorda. People who work in surrounding communities, like Venice, might choose to live in North Port.
The growth comes as nationwide permits for these types of housing returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.
Developers got permits to build an average of 12.8 multifamily housing units for every 10,000 people over the last year. That's down from an average of 16.7 during the pandemic building boom, according to Redfin.
Remote work and pandemic politics pushed people south, accelerating a trend that began before the pandemic.
Residents like David and Susan Lasky represent the typical North Port story - they moved to the area to be closer to family. The Lasky's said it wasn't hard to find an apartment.
"A lot of brand new complexes... " David Lasky said, "And that was more the rule than the exception."
However, there are signs the market could be reaching saturation. A June report from Consumer Affairs found North Port home prices dropped more than anywhere else in the country. In June, North Port realtor David Haller said there were more than 1,000 homes currently on the market.
Despite that, Helgemo said developers continue to see North Port as an economically viable option for multifamily housing projects. There is a lot of cheap, undeveloped land in the city, Helgemo said.
"It just makes sense for them, economically, to do that," Helgemo said.
Here is the full list of cities Redfin analyzed:
1. North Port, Florida: 65 permits issued per 10,000 people.
2. Cape Coral, Florida: 63.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
2. Austin, Texas: 63.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
3. Raleigh, North Carolina: 43.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
4. Columbus, Ohio: 42 permits issued per 10,000 people.
5. Orlando, Florida: 38.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
6. Richmond, Virginia: 36.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
7. Omaha, Nebraska: 33.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
8. Knoxville, Tennessee: 30.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
9. Dallas, Texas: 30.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
10. Nashville, Tennessee: 26.3
11. Denver, Colorado: 25.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
12. Charlotte, North Carolina: 24.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
13. San Diego, California: 23.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
14. Phoenix, Arizona: 23.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
15. Tampa, Florida: 22.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
16. Miami, Florida: 21.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
17. Salt Lake City, Utah: 20.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
18. Houston, Texas: 20.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
19. Louisville, Kentucky: 20 permits issued per 10,000 people.
20: Seattle, Washington: 19.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
21. Kansas City, Missouri: 19 permits issued per 10,000 people.
22: Charleston, South Carolina: 18.9 permits issued per 10,000 people.
23. Bridgeport, Connecticut: 18.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
24: Jacksonville, Florida: 18.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
25: Atlanta, Georgia: 17.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
26. Greensboro, North Carolina: 17.3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
27. New York, New York: 16.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
28. Colorado Springs, Colorado: 16.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
29. Boise City, Idaho: 15.9 permits issued per 10,000 people.
30. Albany, New York: 15.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
31. Greenville, South Carolina: 14.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
32. Indianapolis, Indiana: 14.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
33: San Antonio, Texas: 14.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
34. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 14.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
35. Columbia, South Carolina: 13 permits issued per 10,000 people.
35. Albuquerque, New Mexico: 13 permits issued per 10,000 people.
36. Baltimore, Maryland: 12.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
37. Washington, D.C. : 11.9 permits issued per 10,000 people.
38. Oxnard, California: 11.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
39. Portland, Oregon: 11.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
40. Boston, Massachusetts: 11.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
41. Sacramento, California: 10.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
42. Las Vegas, Nevada: 10.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
43. Los Angeles, California: 9.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
44. Cincinnati, Ohio: 9.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
45. San Francisco, California: 9.3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
45. Grand Rapids, Michigan: 9.3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
46. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 9.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
46. Allentown, Pennsylvania: 9.2 permits issued per 10,000 people.
47. Tucson, Arizona: 9.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
48. Hartford, Connecticut: 8.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
49. Riverside, California: 8.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
50. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 7.9 permits issued per 10,000 people.
51. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 7.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
52. Chicago, Illinois: 7.5 permits issued per 10,000 people.
53. Tulsa, Oklahoma: 7.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
53. McAllen, Texas: 7.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
54. St. Louis, Missouri: 7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
55. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 6.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
55. Dayton, Ohio: 6.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
56. Honolulu, Hawaii: 6.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
56. Detroit, Michigan: 6.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
57. Virginia Beach, Virginia: 5.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
58. New Haven, Connecticut: 5.1 permits issued per 10,000 people.
59. Fresno, California: 4.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
60. San Jose, California: 4.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
61. Memphis, Tennessee: 3.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
61. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 3.4 permits issued per 10,000 people.
62. Buffalo, New York: 3.3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
63. Rochester, New York: 3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
63. Cleveland, Ohio: 3 permits issued per 10,000 people.
64. Birmingham, Alabama: 2.8 permits issued per 10,000 people.
65. Providence, Rhode Island: 2.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
65. New Orleans, Louisiana: 2.7 permits issued per 10,000 people.
66. El Paso, Texas: 1.6 permits issued per 10,000 people.
67: Bakersfield, California: 0.9 permits issued per 10,000 people.
68: Stockton, California: 0 permits issued per 10,000 people.
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