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Florida new construction report — Q1 2026

The bottom line

Florida's residential permit volume is roughly flat (9%) quarter-on-quarter — a stable market with steady underlying demand. Operators should focus on builder-relationship depth rather than market-expansion bets in this state for the next quarter.

Top movers this quarter

The Florida counties with the biggest quarter-on-quarter permit-volume change. Click any county for the full local market dashboard.

1. Manatee County: 1,824 permits this quarter (-838 vs 2,662 prior quarter).
2. Marion County: 1,736 permits this quarter (+684 vs 1,052 prior quarter).
3. Polk County: 1,792 permits this quarter (+480 vs 1,312 prior quarter).
4. Escambia County: 625 permits this quarter (+331 vs 294 prior quarter).
5. Charlotte County: 830 permits this quarter (+228 vs 602 prior quarter).
6. Orange County: 971 permits this quarter (+220 vs 751 prior quarter).

Most-active builders

Licensed home builders in Florida ranked by Q1 2026 permit count. Click any name for the builder's full profile, permit history, and county footprint.

1. LENNAR HOMES, LLC — 212 permits across 1 county.
2. D R HORTON INC — 59 permits across 1 county.
3. PULTE HOME COMPANY, LLC — 40 permits across 1 county.
4. HOMES BY WESTBAY — 31 permits across 1 county.
5. HIGHLAND HOMES — 25 permits across 1 county.
6. ASHTON TAMPA RESIDENTIAL, LLC — 24 permits across 1 county.

What this means for trade operators

If you're an LBM operator, roofing contractor, HVAC company, plumber, concrete crew, or any trade serving Florida's new single-family construction market, this quarter's data points to a few practical actions:

• If you're not actively quoting the top 6 builders listed above, that's the call list for this week.
• If your service area covers any of the top-mover counties, you have leverage right now — builders there are scaling and looking for capacity.
• If you're considering expansion into Florida, the Florida dashboard has all high-volume counties scored against the trade you select. Drive-time analysis from your existing yard tells you which counties are reachable today.

This report is automatically refreshed every quarter from Census Bureau Building Permits Survey data plus county public records. The methodology is documented in our Census BPS data explainer.