South Carolina, the state with the fastest-growing population in the country, is also the one that is building the most new homes, according to a new analysis by University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) researchers. From January to August, the state permitted 33,822 housing units, 114 percent above the U.S. rate per resident. Not only was South Carolina doing much better than the national average, but the state was outdoing itself, permitting more new units than it had in previous years.
In the first eight months of the year, it signed off 5 percent more new housing units than in the same months in 2025 (32,179) and 11 percent more than it was in the same months in 2023 (29,520), right after the pandemic homebuying frenzy reached its peak and imploded due to the sudden spike in mortgage rates. By comparison, the nation permitted 968,187 units in the first eight months of the year, up just 0.05 percent from a year earlier. This flat total hides states that are moving hard in the opposite directions, including those responsible for an ill-fated construction boom in the years following the start of the pandemic.
The only way out of the housing affordability crisis that has overwhelmed the country for the past few years is to build enough homes to fix the existing shortage, according to experts. This is clear to lawmakers as well, no matter which side of the political spectrum they belong to. Earlier this year, the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act addressed this shortage, trying to boost new construction by incentivizing reforms such as streamlined permitting, density bonuses, and zoning changes.
The amount of new homes that would need to be added to the market is enormous, suggesting that change will not happen quickly. While estimates vary, White House economists concluded earlier this year that the U.S. is short of 10 million homes. While federal legislation can try to spur reform, it is largely up to states and cities to enact reform aimed at boosting construction.
And the sooner this starts, the better. People need to be able to afford their home, but if they can’t find a home to rent or buy at all there’s going to be a problem,” Shawn McCoy, an economist and co-author of the UNLV study, said in a statement. The UNLV study compiles U.S.
Census Bureau building permit data from January to August, compares it to previous years, and ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia considering four factors. One: scale, or how much a state permits for the number of people who live there. Two: cost burden, or how much a state permits for the households already paying 30 percent or more of income on housing—those considered “cost-burdened.” Three: household growth, or whether its monthly permit pace is keeping up with the households it is projected to add.
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