# County Multifamily Building Permits Surge Radar (`lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar`) Actor

Find U.S. counties where 5+ unit apartment building permits are surging year over year, filterable by state and minimum growth percent, ranked for building-product suppliers, developers, and lenders.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar.md
- **Developed by:** [Luke Hunter](https://apify.com/lukehunter) (community)
- **Categories:** Real estate
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$10.00 / 1,000 signals

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## County Multifamily Building Permits Surge Radar — Find Apartment Construction Demand Shifts

**For building-product suppliers, developers, lenders and brokers who need to spot where multifamily construction demand is accelerating.** One run returns U.S. counties where **5+ unit residential building permit authorizations are accelerating year over year**, ranked and ready to export.
Pay-per-result: **$0.01 per county signal — 100 signals = $1.00.** You pay only for results delivered, capped by `maxItems`.
Try it free with Apify's monthly platform credit.

Instead of downloading two Census files and joining counties manually, set a minimum unit count and growth threshold and get export-ready rows with current/prior authorizations, permit valuation, multifamily mix and source links.

### Quick start (2 minutes)

1. Open the **Input** tab (no Census account or key needed — the source is public).
2. Use this prefill for fast-growing Texas/Florida counties:

```json
{"states":["TX","FL"],"minCurrentFivePlusUnits":100,"minYoYGrowthPercent":50,"maxItems":50}
```

3. Click **Start**. Export the ranked county list to CSV/JSON, or pull it via the API shown below into your own territory model.

### Why use this Actor?

Spot counties with accelerating apartment/multifamily authorization activity; use same-month year-over-year comparison rather than noisier month-over-month movement; prioritize territories with minimum-unit and growth filters; keep source facts separate from derived metrics; cap spend and output with `maxItems`.

### Use cases

- **Building-product suppliers** planning sales territory coverage around counties with surging multifamily permit volume.
- **Developers and land buyers** screening markets for accelerating apartment demand before committing capital.
- **Lenders and brokers** building a monthly watchlist of counties worth a closer look for construction financing.
- **Housing-supply analysts** tracking geographic demand shifts for dashboards and market reports.

### Run it weekly

Census revises county BPS data monthly, so a weekly run mostly re-confirms the same month until a new one posts:

1. Set your `states`/`minCurrentFivePlusUnits`/`minYoYGrowthPercent` filters, then click **Schedule** on the run page (or create one under **Schedules** in the Apify Console).
2. A monthly schedule matches Census's own release cadence; a weekly schedule catches a revised month sooner.
3. Compare `currentPeriod` across runs — a new value means Census has released a new county file, which is your signal to refresh your territory list.

### How it works

1. Discovers official Census BPS county monthly files.
2. Uses the latest revised month by default, or your requested month.
3. Loads the same month one year earlier.
4. Joins by county FIPS, filters 5+ unit authorizations, calculates YoY/mix metrics and ranks signals.
5. Delivers up to `maxItems` rows.

### Input

| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `targetMonth` | latest | Optional YYYY-MM available from Census. |
| `states` | all | Optional U.S. postal codes. |
| `minCurrentFivePlusUnits` | 20 | Minimum current-month 5+ unit authorizations. |
| `minYoYGrowthPercent` | 25 | Minimum YoY growth when prior-year base is nonzero. |
| `maxItems` | 100 | Hard delivered/billable signal cap. |

```json
{"states":["TX","FL"],"minCurrentFivePlusUnits":100,"minYoYGrowthPercent":50,"maxItems":50}
```

### Output

Source facts include county/FIPS, current and prior-year 5+ unit authorizations, current 5+ buildings and published permit valuation. Derived fields include `yoyFivePlusUnitChange`, `yoyFivePlusGrowthPercent`, `derivedFivePlusValuePerUnit`, `derivedFivePlusSharePercent` and `derivedReportedCoveragePercent`. A zero prior-year base is represented by `priorYearBaseWasZero: true` and a null percentage rather than an invented infinite growth rate.

### Output example

Illustrative only:

```json
{"countyName":"Example County","state":"Texas","stateCode":"TX","currentPeriod":"2026-07","priorYearPeriod":"2025-07","currentFivePlusUnits":420,"priorYearFivePlusUnits":210,"yoyFivePlusUnitChange":210,"yoyFivePlusGrowthPercent":100,"currentFivePlusPermitValue":62000000,"derivedFivePlusValuePerUnit":147619.05,"priorYearBaseWasZero":false,"currentSourceUrl":"https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2607c.txt"}
```

| Field | Value (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| `countyName` / `state` | `Example County`, `Texas` |
| `currentPeriod` / `priorYearPeriod` | `2026-07` / `2025-07` |
| `currentFivePlusUnits` | `420` |
| `priorYearFivePlusUnits` | `210` |
| `yoyFivePlusGrowthPercent` | `100` |
| `currentFivePlusPermitValue` | `62000000` |
| `derivedFivePlusValuePerUnit` | `147619.05` |

### How the data is transformed

The Actor joins current and prior-year county records using stable state+county FIPS codes. It does not claim that an authorization is a construction start, completion, project lead or revenue event. Published permit valuation remains a source fact; ratios and growth measures are explicitly named as derived fields.

### API usage

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("YOUR_USERNAME/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar").call(run_input={"states":["TX"],"maxItems":50})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["countyName"], item["currentFivePlusUnits"], item["yoyFivePlusGrowthPercent"])
```

### Scheduling / recurring use

Census releases revised county BPS data monthly. Schedule the Actor monthly to refresh territory, market and supply-pipeline watchlists.

### Data source and trust

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS), official County current-month ASCII files. Census publishes monthly county estimates for new privately owned residential construction authorized by permits. No account or API key is required.

### Reliability and data quality

Built-in quality checks detect malformed or degraded source responses and reject data that no longer resembles expected Census county records instead of quietly treating it as valid. Individual source fields can still be revised or imputed by Census; the Actor preserves that limitation and does not guess missing commercial facts.

### Pricing and cost control

**$0.01 per county signal** (100 signals = $1.00), one delivered county **signal** per event. `maxItems` is the hard result/billing cap. Filtered records, retries, failed parsing and empty output are not charged.

### Important limitations

BPS measures permit authorizations for new privately owned residential construction, not starts or completions. County rows are market-level signals, not individual project leads. Census methodology includes imputation. Published valuation is permit valuation, not project market value or expected revenue.

### FAQ

**Does this find individual apartment projects?** No. It identifies county-level multifamily authorization surges.

**Why compare year over year?** Comparing the same month helps reduce obvious seasonal effects.

**What does 5+ units mean?** Census groups residential buildings with five or more housing units as a structure category.

**Can I monitor one state?** Yes. Filter with postal codes such as TX, FL or CA.

**Is this affiliated with the Census Bureau?** No. It is an independent data transformation tool using public U.S. Census Bureau data.

### Related Actors

Other data tools from the same developer, built to the same standard: official or public sources, hard cost caps, and honest documentation of limits.

- **[Zillow ZIP Code Property Search Scraper](https://apify.com/lukehunter/zillow-zip-scraper)**: for-sale listings by ZIP code with prices, price cuts and days on Zillow.
- **[Federal Register Rule Effective-Date Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/federal-rule-effective-date-radar)**: final federal rules about to take effect, with citations, dockets and urgency.
- **[Chicago Contract Recompete & Extension Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/chicago-contract-expiration-radar)**: expiring City of Chicago contracts with extension history, for recompete prospecting.
- **[Bank Branch Closings & Merger Radar (FDIC)](https://apify.com/lukehunter/bank-branch-merger-radar)**: new US bank branch closings, openings and mergers from the FDIC.
- **[Chicago New Business License Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/chicago-new-business-license-radar)**: newly licensed Chicago businesses as opening leads, grouped by category.
- **[NYC FDNY Contractor Leads & Hearing Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/fdny-violation-radar)**: fresh NYC fire-code summonses routed by remediation trade, with hearing dates.
- **[RCRA Enforcement Response Leads](https://apify.com/lukehunter/rcra-enforcement-radar)**: new EPA hazardous-waste (RCRA) enforcement actions and penalties, by state.
- **[Emerging Federal Contractor Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/emerging-federal-contractor-radar)**: companies that just won their first federal contracts, from USAspending.gov.
- **[Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Leads](https://apify.com/lukehunter/hospital-price-transparency-enforcement-leads)**: hospitals with recent CMS price transparency warning notices, CAP requests and CMP notices.
- **[Hospital Ownership Change Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/hospital-chow-radar)**: hospitals that just changed owner, with buyer, seller and effective date from CMS filings.
- **[Walmart Category Scraper](https://apify.com/lukehunter/walmart-category-scraper)**: product names, prices, was-prices and ratings from Walmart category pages.
- **[New Healthcare Organization NPI Radar](https://apify.com/lukehunter/new-healthcare-organization-npi-radar)**: newly registered healthcare organizations from CMS's weekly NPI file, by provider type.

# Actor input Schema

## `states` (type: `array`):

Optional two-letter US state/DC codes, up to 51. Leave empty for nationwide results.

## `targetMonth` (type: `string`):

Optional YYYY-MM revised Census survey month. Leave blank to use the latest available county release.

## `minCurrentFivePlusUnits` (type: `integer`):

Ignore counties below this current-month multifamily scale (units authorized), 0-1000000, default 20.

## `minYoYGrowthPercent` (type: `number`):

Minimum growth in units authorized in buildings with 5+ units versus the same month one year earlier, percent, -100 to 100000, default 25. A positive current value after a zero prior-year base is treated as a surge with null percentage growth.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on delivered and billable county signals, 1-1000, default 100.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "states": [
    "TX",
    "FL",
    "AZ",
    "NC"
  ],
  "minCurrentFivePlusUnits": 20,
  "minYoYGrowthPercent": 25,
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `signals` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "states": [
        "TX",
        "FL",
        "AZ",
        "NC"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "states": [
        "TX",
        "FL",
        "AZ",
        "NC",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "states": [
    "TX",
    "FL",
    "AZ",
    "NC"
  ]
}' |
apify call lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lukehunter/county-multifamily-permit-surge-radar"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Bnuo7aTtv0FNp8GDG/builds/tHl0ZTzIE7e8rbac5/openapi.json